Courtney ▶ IL

Courtney | Illinois
Age: 33
Diagnosis: HER2+ Breast Cancer
Chemotherapy TCHP
Total Treatments: 6 
Infusion Center: Illinois Masonic 

Tell us about yourself.
I was a 33-year-old elementary school teacher with a newborn and a toddler when I first felt the lump in my left breast. I was certain it was a clogged duct since I was still breastfeeding my 6-month-old son, but I called my doctor when it didn’t go away after a few weeks. Since I am in good health with no family history of breast cancer, my doctor and I were both shocked when test results confirmed that I had breast cancer. Two years later — after six rounds of chemo, a double mastectomy, and 27 rounds of radiation — I am delighted and relieved to report that I am cancer free.

How did you find out about DigniCap?
I found out about scalp cooling through a family friend who had gone through treatment two years before me. My oncologist was the person who told me about DigniCap.

Why was keeping your hair during chemotherapy important to you?
One important thing that gave me hope during my grueling cancer treatment was scalp cooling. Many cancer patients are forced to sacrifice their hair during their cancer treatment. For me, although I felt so sick, when I looked in the mirror every day, I didn’t see myself as sick. And that gave me more hope and more energy to fight this terrible disease.

“DigniCap played a significant role in my fight against cancer. It truly helped me hold onto part of my identity when I was going through a major health crisis.”

How did keeping your hair affect you, and those around you?
For my husband and my family, the fact that I did not lose my hair gave them more confidence that I was going to be okay. For my two young sons, I continued to look like the mom they had always known, which helped them feel less scared.

In the midst of mounting medical bills, my friends and family raised money to cover the $2,000 cost of scalp cooling that my health insurance did not cover. DigniCap played a significant role in my fight against cancer. It truly helped me hold onto part of my identity when I was going through a major health crisis.

Now I want to give back. I am incredibly grateful for my medical care team at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. I want to spread hope to other cancer patients by raising funds for scalp cooling cold capping. So I created a nonprofit called Hair & Hope that is doing just that. We provide funding for scalp cooling – we also provide support to give people hope during this horrible time in their life.

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 tell anyone who is going through treatment or has been newly diagnosed that scalp cooling was not easy, but while everyone is focusing on your physical health scalp cooling was helping with my mental health. Trying to keep my hair made it easier to get through chemo, I could focus on that instead of focusing on all the what ifs that come with cancer.