Kelly ▶ CA

Kelly | California
Age: 58
Diagnosis: infiltrating lobular carcinoma
Chemotherapy Regimen: TCHP – Docetaxel Carboplatin
Total Treatments: 6 
Infusion Center: UCSF San Mateo Cancer Care Center

Tell us about yourself.
I am a 58-year-old mother of two daughters and have three granddaughters and a grandson. My husband and I have been married for 38 years. I worked as an Educational Interpreter for Deaf children. I also worked in Elementary, Middle and High School at different points of my career. I retired in 2020 during Covid. I am very active in my church and have a very full life with a great family and friends. I also have a mother with Dementia and I oversee her care. I helped my daughter by caring for my granddaughter prior to having cancer. I was living a very busy full life.

How did you find out about DigniCap?
Like many other women I was not expecting to be told I had breast cancer. The diagnosis itself was overwhelming, but hearing about the treatment and what it would entail was also overwhelming. On the first visit, my oncologist told me about different scalp cooling treatments that were available. I decided that night I was going to go with DigniCap.

“Going through chemotherapy still looking like myself helped me emotionally to get through the tough times. So much of my life wasn’t normal but keeping as much of my hair as I could helped me to feel like myself.“

Did you have a successful experience using DigniCap?
So much was out of my control and going with DigniCap Felt like something I could choose. The process was not difficult at all. I also had a team that helped me each time I went in and they made the time fun and enjoyable. Going through chemotherapy still looking like myself helped me emotionally to get through the tough times. So much of my life wasn’t normal but keeping as much of my hair as I could helped me to feel like myself. I lost a lot of hair, but still had some. I finished my chemo treatments and because I used DigniCap I was able to resume somewhat of a normal life a lot faster than I would’ve done otherwise. For the areas that I lost hair, the hair growth started within two weeks after I finished chemo. I now am going on 7 weeks since my last chemo and I no longer have any bald spots. I have a lot of hair growing in. I’m very happy I chose to go with DigniCap. It allowed me to get through this difficult time feeling mostly like myself. I am incredibly happy with how fast my hair is growing back!

Why was keeping your hair during chemotherapy important to you?
With all that I was going through this helped me. The journey is such an emotional one and my hair was a big part of it. Losing my hair would have been the physical reminder that I had cancer every time I looked in the mirror. I wasn’t in denial, I knew I had breast cancer but those moments I felt normal helped me fight through the tough times. I am finished with my chemo and my hair is really thin, but I have enough that I don’t have to wear a wig or a scarf. My hair started growing back within weeks of finishing chemo.

How did keeping your hair affect you, and those around you?
Keeping my hair made me feel somewhat normal in the midst of a very abnormal life. I lost hair and currently have a head full of different lengths of hair. Coming out of chemo with any hair allowed me to resume life without hesitation. I know this was important to my mental outlook. My hair doesn’t look like it used to but I can pull it up or wear a headband and I am ready to go.

As far as those around me, I think most my people are way more focused on me and how I am affected. My husband says it helped him because it helped me. I also can see it helps my granddaughters who are 8, 3 and  2years old to not be uncomfortable around me. 

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?
The advice I would give someone going through a similar experience or who are considering scalp cooling, is that it was worth it for me and allowed me to feel like I was myself. Because the cancer diagnosis was so out of my control, it allowed me to feel some sense of stability. I think it is a very personal choice and some people don’t feel so attached to their hair but for me, it was very important. My hair has always been something I did like about myself. Overall, I think people should do whatever helps them to get through a very difficult situation.