Cristina ▶ IL

Cristina | Illinois
Age: 33
Diagnosis: IDC Breast Cancer
Chemotherapy Regimen: TCHP
Total Treatments: 6 
Infusion Center: Northwestern Medicine

Tell us about yourself.
At the age of 33, I was diagnosed with Stage III IDC less than two weeks after the birth of my first son. I live in the suburbs of Chicago, IL with my husband, our baby and two dogs. I work in supply chain management. I enjoy reading, cooking, baking, and spending time with my close-knit family.

How did you find out about DigniCap?
Being a person who finds comfort in information, I quickly began researching ways to make the undoubtedly difficult journey ahead of me a bit smoother and came across DigniCap. When I was first considering cold capping, the patient stories on the DigniCap website made a huge impact in my decision.

“It was a blessing to be able to go about my daily activities without appearing to be in active treatment and keeping my privacy. I was also thankful that the children in my family were able to see me as me.“

Did you have a successful experience using DigniCap?
I completed 6 rounds of TCHP and did keep the majority of my hair. I’m looking forward to returning to work and having the luxury of sharing as much or as little as I’d like due to not having to field any unwanted questions about what would have been a changed appearance without DigniCap!

Why was keeping your hair during chemotherapy important to you?
It was important to me so have some semblance of normalcy and I knew that if I looked like myself, I would feel more confident. It was a blessing to be able to go about my daily activities without appearing to be in active treatment and keeping my privacy. I was also thankful that the children in my family were able to see me as me.

How did keeping your hair affect you, and those around you?
Seeing me still look like myself helped my mom, siblings, nieces and nephew, stepson, friends, etc. be less scared. Keeping my hair made me more approachable with those around me and gave me more dignity and normalcy in return.

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?
My best advice is to keep a good attitude, find humor where you can, ensure the DigniCap fits as it should, and follow the instructions!