At a glance:
- Diagnosed with Triple-Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma breast cancer
- Drug regimen: AC / Taxol
- Penguin Cold Cap rep was ‘super helpful’
- Saved 65% of hair
Erin is a 31-year-old marketing manager from Oklahoma City, and lives with her husband and two young children aged 4 and 1.
Erin’s Diagnosis
Erin has the BRCA1+ gene, which means an increased risk of breast cancer. As a result, she has already had a preventative double mastectomy to reduce the risk, so it came as a complete shock when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I was caught completely off guard. My immediate worry was whether it had been found in time and how it would impact my family. And I didn’t want the cancer to steal my dignity or sense of self.”
Erin before and after chemo
Erin was diagnosed with Triple-Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. These cancers tend to be more common in women younger than 40 and who have a BRCA1 mutation. She was prescribed four doses of AC followed by four doses of Taxol, which causes hair loss in most people.
“My children are so young – I didn’t want cancer to be this big scary change for them. I wanted to stay looking like their Mama. I have long straight hair and retaining it was one way I could keep their lives as normal as possible throughout my treatments.”
Erin’s experience with Cold Capping
Erin heard about cold capping through one of her mother’s friends who used the caps to save her hair during chemo a few years before.
“I reached out to her to learn more about her experience and how it worked. I took to the internet to find out more and read about Penguin Cold Caps’ high success rate with AC chemo treatments.”
Erin contacted Penguin Cold Caps and immediately received a call from Cheryl Straw, one of Penguin Cold Caps reps.
“Cheryl was super helpful – she walked me through the entire process and made sure I got the caps before I started chemo the following week.
“Because of COVID I wasn’t able to use a professional capper due to limited access to the clinic, so my husband stepped in and became by fearless capper and did an excellent job of keeping things in order.”
“I loved how snuggly the caps fitted. They were more comfortable than I thought they would be.
During the first few minutes, the caps made me feel like I had a brain freeze but after the initial shock, your scalp numbs and it’s not bad at all.”
Erin’s results
“I’m shocked at how well it worked! Strangers have no idea I have been going through chemo at all.
“Overall, I’ve saved about 65% of my hair. I did start shedding about 8 weeks into my treatments, which was very similar to postpartum shedding.
“I would absolutely recommend Penguin Cold Caps. It takes dedication, but it is possible to keep your hair if it’s important to you”
Tips from Erin
We asked Erin if she had any tips or advice for others when using the caps:
“I used biotin vitamins throughout my treatments and I think it helped decrease the shedding. I also bought band less earmuffs (ear bags) which kept my ears warm and were easy to use during capping.”