Cold Cap on Eastenders

[ZenaJ]

Hi lovely ladies,

I've just watched Eastenders and Jean is having chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer Stage 3C. She's using the cold cap and I must say it was nothing like my experience. It wasn't plugged into a cooling machine or attached with a pipe and when it was removed her hair looked exactly the same as it did when it was put on. What happened to the conditioner they put on and my hair looked a wet mess when it was removed.

Was this experience the same for anyone else?

Hope everyone is doing well. Zena xx

[Neona]

Mine was certainly plugged in and a wet mess afterwards!

[ZenaJ in reply to Neona]

They said it would be authentic too. xx

[Maus123]

Hi Zena. TV cancer, eh? 🙄

That said: In places where a proper cooling cap system isn't so widely available, you could buy a few gel based cool caps, throw them in the freezer and just switch them every 45 mins or so. Can't be as effective as a proper cool cap, but I've honestly considered it.

It's not the initial loss of hair that gets us. It's the infinitely long time it takes to grow back.

Xx. Maus

[ZenaJ in reply to Maus123]

This soap is set in London so they should have the proper equipment. I had mine on for 6 - 7 hours. On a trial for weekly chemo which changed things slightly. It worked though. xxx

[BeeWild]

Hi don’t watch east Enders but I had the cold cap that plugged in and my gelatinous conditioned hair was always frozen when the cap was removed I could post a pic but it won’t let me on here!

You think the researchers would do a bit of a better job but at least this will hopefully raise awareness in the general public!

[ZenaJ in reply to BeeWild]

Let's hope so. It might make people think they'll look the same before they use it as they do after when that's not the case in my experience. I'll have to see how it develops. Although in saying that I'm on holiday next week and am not a regular watcher, I just wondered how they'd approach it. xxx

[Numi]

Where I had my chemo they have the replaceable cold caps, so no being soggy or plugged in. I couldn't face 6+ hours of that every time, so didn't bother. I didn't lose quite all my hair and it grew back really quickly, albeit a totally different colour - greying black hair looks quite striking against the fair skin and freckles which accompanied my previously red hair!

[ZenaJ in reply to Numi]

Ar, maybe that's what they were using. Did it still make hair wet? xx

[Numi in reply to ZenaJ]

Didn't seem to. A couple of women having treatment on the same days as me were using them. Just looked extremely uncomfortable. They fit so tightly you can't wear your glasses, so one lady was trying to read using a magnifying glass.

[ZenaJ in reply to Numi]

They are very tight. They have to be to make contact with your scalp or it won't work.

[Clar0805]

I don’t watch Eastenders but no I would wrap my head in a scarf to leave the chemo unit. It would be plastered in conditioner and it would be covered in a sheet of ice when removed. I was an extra half an hour just defrosting! Maybe they were deliberately trying to make the whole experience look less traumatic for people facing chemo who don’t know what to expect but I agree this wouldn’t give them a clear idea and our friends probably watch this and wonder why we made such a fuss about it!

[ZenaJ in reply to Clar0805]

They might be quite disappointed if it's not the same. I made my friends aware of the ice that used to fall on my shoulders when the cold cap was removed. I don't think cold cap is the right name for it. I think tight ice bucket would be better. xxx

[Clar0805 in reply to ZenaJ]

Yes I agree - it went beyond cold! X

[Andrea63]

I didn’t use the cold cap so can’t compare but I am watching on catch up to see how they present Jean’s story. Friday’s episode was disappointing but I guess they have to fit cancer into the small bytes of the storyline and they’ve even cut down her treatment to 3 hours. I have a lot of issues with how it is represented but the most disappointing thing so far about the story is the representation of the nursing staff, where is the patience and the kindness of these wonderful people who look after us.

[ZenaJ in reply to Andrea63]

I thought that 3 hours didn't sound long but wondered if it was different for different people. Because of the cold cap it adds an hour and half but I had to start at 8 in the morning and left late afternoon every week.

It's made me wonder how true other cancers have been portrayed. I remember when they did breast cancer story with Peggy Mitchell it seemed a simple affair which I know it can't be. xx

[Lewisriley47]

Just to add to your post when Jean was waiting to be called for chemo there was only about5 people waiting! The hospital I attend is packed solid!

[ZenaJ in reply to Lewisriley47]

Agree. I think we'll have to take it all with a pinch of salt. xx

[Luci22]

Interesting... I have not seen that program, but my mom was never even told of a cooling cap or anything related to this concept. I only heard about it after her treatment on this site. Who knew? Why don't they tell people the same thing? What does it even do?

[ZenaJ in reply to Luci22]

Hi Luci,

I was offered the cold cap at my initial consultation. It's a cap that looks a bit like a cycle helmet which is attached to a cooling machine by a long tube and plugged into the mains. This refrigeration unit gets down to a very low minus temperature. You wear it before the chemo starts and it cools, more like freezes, the roots of the hair which would be the first place the chemo hits. It's supposed to stop the chemo from damaging the roots and hair is then protected. It's left on after the chemo finishes until it defrosts. They condition the hair before putting the helmet on and the helmet is on really tightly to make sure the helmet touches the head.

It can be very uncomfortable and doesn't work too well on really thick hair. It worked for me so that made it all worth it.

I was told several times that I would lose my hair but although I lost every other hair on my body I kept the hair on my head.

Hope this explains it a bit.

[Luci22 in reply to ZenaJ]

Hi Zenaj, thanks for explaining this. It sounds like quite a process but well worth it if you didn't lose your hair.

[Heatherslade]

Yes, they struggled to get fit right and my hair was wet and covered in conditioner. Did not work, used 3 times and lost all my hair! Grown back now, 2 yrs later but think it's thinner.

[ZenaJ in reply to Heatherslade]

Oh, I'm sorry it didn't work for you. It could have been that your hair was so thick it couldn't reach your scalp or that the cap was the wrong size.

I'm glad your hair is back now. xx

[JustKBO]

TV 😂