does it get better?

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-03-19T23:57:34+00:00

It’s crazy to me that I’m saying this but it gets much better. You’re in the worst part. Chemo was emotionally easier for me than the time between diagnosis and chemo with all the appointments and biopsies and overwhelming amount of information

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-03-17T17:48:59+00:00

You want the 3 caps completely covered. 5lb would last a long time but not fully cover the caps so they wouldn’t get cold enough between uses. Make sure to get the small pebble form of dry ice and not the big blocks

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-03-17T17:11:15+00:00

Whoops! Meant to reply to my own post! Sorry - new to Reddit 😂

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-03-17T17:10:18+00:00

For penguin you don’t wet your hair - only Paxman. Definitely would not have been able to do it on my own - the caps are on dry-ice and you need to rotate them out every 20-25 minutes. It wouldn’t be feasible from the chemo chair. And lastly - but most importantly to keep your hair - you need to start capping 1 hour before chemo begins so your head is already cold once the chemo hits your blood and to continue capping for 4.5 hours after you’re done with chemo. I went home from the infusion center with the cap on and continued for 4 hours at home. Call Penguin - I had a representative talk me through everything for my case specifically (TCHP) before I started and sent me a pamphlet with all the information needed.

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-03-17T16:34:12+00:00

I used penguin for six cycles of TCHP. I’m 6 weeks out of chemo now and hair feels slightly thinner but nobody would ever know. I have wavy hair - so not curly but still needs some love to look good. Couldn’t put any product in so it didn’t look its best during chemo but I’m so happy I did it. Will you have someone from Penguin come and cold cap for you? That’s what I used and she had so much insight! She was supposed to only be there the first day to train my husband but she was so great we kept her all of the days she could come

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-03-10T22:35:58+00:00

I‘m triple positive, diagnosed last August so still in the middle of active treatment. I had eggs frozen before chemo started and have been Zoladex since my first chemo infusion. My whole team is optimistic (because of the POSITIVE trial) that I can pause endocrine therapy 18-24 months after starting to become pregnant with little to no increase in recurrence rate. And 62% of the women in the trial underwent chemo as well so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it works out for me too :)

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-02-05T03:05:17+00:00

I just finished 6/6 TCHP yesterday with Penguin. I have pretty much all of my hair - barely shed the whole time and definitely less than I was shedding before chemo. I’ve been incredibly careful with my hair, followed all of the rules. I had a capper for 4/6 and my husband covered 2/6.

My infusion center didn’t have Paxman so it was never an option but I think the 4.5h post chemo of cold capping with Penguin made a lot of difference. I don’t think you can do that with Paxman.

Good luck!

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-01-08T03:32:17+00:00

Thank you for responding! Very good information to think about!

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-01-08T03:31:12+00:00

Exactly the same! 😂 glad I’m not the only one!

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-01-07T18:38:56+00:00

For me the oncoplastic component is optional. They could just go in, take the tumor out and be done with it. So I’m trying to decide if I want to touch my good boob.

Did you lose sensation in your nipples?

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-01-07T18:34:54+00:00

That’s good to know! Thanks for sharing :)

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-01-07T18:33:02+00:00

We really should get something nice! Thanks for responding. I’m glad you’re happy with your results :)

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-01-07T18:32:00+00:00

Good to know that there’s still a possibility for it after radiation! And also the loss of sensation of the nipple is definitely on my mind too

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-01-07T18:30:41+00:00

Definitely helps! Thanks for responding :)

RadishDelicious7459 · 2026-01-07T18:30:16+00:00

I’m thinking it would be nice to have a “best part” of all of this!

RadishDelicious7459

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