Mary

Diagnosis: Lobular Breast Cancer
Chemotherapy regimen: Taxotere/Cytoxan
Total treatments: 4

I was diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer on January 15th, 2018. On December 13th, 2018 I had Double Mastectomy surgery and followed up with Tissue Expansion for eventual reconstructive surgery. January 18, 2019 was the shocking day my oncologist told me I had to have chemotherapy based on high risk results from genetic tumor testing I had done called Mammaprint.

The first thing I thought of when the Dr. said chemo was “oh no” my daughter is getting married on March 23, 2019. I asked him if I could wait until after the wedding he said “no.” I then asked him if I was going to lose my hair and he wrote on the white board the words “cold cap.” I knew nothing about chemotherapy or how to save my hair but I was determined to try to save my hair for my daughters upcoming wedding. The nurse came in with Educational Materials and told me the cost of using DigniCap. I immediately went home and talked to my husband. He agreed we should try to save my hair if it was possible knowing I could always wait until closer to the big day and get a wig if needed. I had to do 4 rounds of chemo every 3 weeks starting on January 25th and ending the week after the wedding on March 29th. I am finished with treatments now and have my reconstructive surgery set for May 9th.

The truth is I lost very little hair using DigniCap. The nurses were well trained in using the cap and very careful in putting it on properly. Did it add extra time and effort onto my treatments? Yes, but I would do it all over again if I had to in a heartbeat. On the day of my daughters beautiful wedding we had a team of hair and make up artists come to make us shine. It was so fun! I was so very happy that I had my hair that wonderful day and every other day too. My close friends and family of course knew what I was going through but honestly I didn’t look sick at all during the process. If you are reading this and you want the chance to keep your hair while going through this challenging time DigniCap is there for you.