Three days before my 50th birthday, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. A cancer diagnosis hits you like a ton of bricks and then the myriad of phone calls and doctors’ appointments keep you in a state of shock for some time. I was diagnosed as Stage 1, so I was hopeful that I didn’t need chemotherapy. However, a mamma print test (which looks at recurrence genes) came back with me having a “high risk” of recurrence. Chemo it was. I cried so hard. I had long hair for much of my life and the thought of losing my hair made me so sad.
My husband immediately began researching cold caps and found DigniCap. At the time (September 2017), the closest DigniCap to us was 2 1/2 hours away. I love that man so much; he took off time and we drove down to Wake Forest so that I could work to save my hair with DigniCap. I was able to save between 65-70% of my hair! When I would head to chemo, I was focused on “saving something” (my hair) rather than the thought of chemo and what I would lose from it.
Keeping most of my hair helped me keep a more positive attitude whilst going through treatment. When I looked in the mirror, I was not constantly reminded about cancer! I saw me, so I felt like me. Cancer treatments take a lot from the patient. While it is combatting the disease, it is also harming healthy cells. I loved that I was not only saving my hair but helping to protect my hair follicles at the same time. Finally, I am both an online college professor and I teach high school as well. Keeping my hair kept my confidence! I 100% recommend DigniCap!
– Lizabeth Minuto, Virginia