Angela ▶ FL

Angela | Florida
Age: 34
Diagnosis: HER2+ Breast Cancer
Chemotherapy TCHP
Total Treatments: 6 
Infusion Center: St. Joseph’s Hospital – Adult Infusion Center 

Tell us about yourself.
I was 34 at the time of my diagnosis. I have a husband and 12-year-old son who are my world. I work from home and do remote secretarial work. I was blessed to have my whole family support me through my journey – parents, sister, nieces and nephews and amazing friends.

When I received my diagnosis of Breast Cancer my world came crashing down on me. I was overwhelmed with all the moving parts that needed to be completed and were out of my hand – I felt helpless. When I was told I would have to go through chemo, losing my hair was one of the first thoughts that came to mind.

How did you find out about DigniCap?
My surgeon mentioned DigniCap and how scalp cooling could help with hair loss due to chemo. After much research and reading different experiences, we agreed that we wanted to give it a shot.

“I initially chose to try DigniCap for my son but now I know that it emotionally helped me very much.”

Did you have a successful experience using DigniCap?
I can confidently say it was the BEST decision we ever made! I had no bald spots, only some thinning of my hair. I made sure to only wash my hair once a week (the day before my treatment ), with cool water, and shampoo that was all natural.

After chemo and about 3-4 weeks after I had my partial mastectomy, I started shedding more hair. So, I’m not sure if it was the last chemo or the meds from the surgery, but that’s when I saw most of the shedding. But I did not have any actual bald spots, just thinned out hair from what my normal hair is.

Why was trying to keep your hair during chemotherapy important to you?
We have a young son and worried how he would feel with seeing my appearance change so dramatically so quickly. Try to control the one thing we could while all this was going on and hope to keep my appearance as close as we could for my family and myself. My nurse also explained to me that even the minimal hair loss I have will grow back much faster because of the cap. If I did not use DigniCap I would have lost all my hair no doubt about it – and it would take about 8-9 months for it to grow back. With DigniCap, the hair started growing back right away.

How did keeping your hair affect you, and those around you?
There were many times my family would say they forgot that I was undergoing chemo because I have my full head of hair. I initially chose to try DigniCap for my son but now I know that it emotionally helped me very much.

What advice would you give to someone who is going through a similar experience, or who has recently been diagnosed and is considering scalp cooling?
I would 100% recommend DigniCap to anyone having to go through chemo! There are so many things that aren’t in your control when you are faced with cancer, this is one thing you can try to control. By the end of chemo you physically aren’t feeling well…you lose your eyebrows and lashes, you see your physical looks are different and it really affects you mentally. The fact that I was able to keep my hair was huge. I think if I had lost all my hair it would have been very difficult to mentally see myself that way. Many people didn’t even know what I was going through. Also, whatever hair fell out has been growing back in leaps and bounds. I am one year post chemo now and the new hairs are already 5-6 inches long. It was not easy during the actual treatment, I can’t lie…it was hard to deal with the cold till you numb out. I had some moments that it was overwhelming, but I would definitely recommend it to others, and it was worth it.