Heidi's Chemotherapy Story

Heidi's story

Learning about the effects

Stage 3 cancer. Any cancer is a hard pill to swallow. Cancer with young kids is a jagged little pill. After the initial shock and processing, and learning about what type of chemotherapy, I learned about side effects. One side effect of my treatment was hair loss. Speaking to doctors at MSK, I learned that young children feel more effected when things/routines become different… when I started to look different. When I started to lose hair.

Using the cold cap

I was fitted for a cold cap and it met me at my first treatment. Paxman. This is the best out there, however there is a design flaw. The top of the head is where I lost all my hair, and I know that there were many factors, however I feel that there were two items that could be improved upon as follows

1. The top of the system should be redesigned to be able to conform to the top of the head
2. The top to allow more cooling chamber to keep it colder.

The hair starts to fall out

The paperwork about my chemotherapy (Taxil was the one that caused hair loss - it’s important to note that not all types of chemo have this side effect) noted that 14 days after my treatment, I would start to lose hair. I prayed, hoped and wished that this would not be me… But it was me. Fourteen days later, I started to lose clumps of hair. The texture turned into something that I have never felt. I cried each time I took a shower. A hairbrush became a torture device. I wanted to shave my head to gain control. My husband looked at me and said, “before you do that, think about it”. I am so happy that I did not shave my head. Don’t shave your hair!!!

In my emotional dark space, I kept thinking about how my kids would think I was sick (I mean, I was.. let’s be honest) and how when I looked sick, they would be scared. Hell, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I was scared. From this point on, this became about me feeling better about myself first, and keeping my kids confident that “everything will be fine”. I distinctly remember searching for hair loss solutions online. Putting together different SEO words and stumbled upon Lucinda Ellery. I watched the 5 part video of the news anchor woman in the UK… and I sent an email requesting more information after video 5.

A representative from Lucinda Ellery was in touch very quickly, and I scheduled a consult. We did a video consult and she sent me her before/after. I booked myself for a system for the next week.

First visit to the salon

I was nervous. I had no idea what to expect. Now I know that it is called an integrated mesh system, however LE has very specific differences. The entire build took a long time. It’s a full day commitment, especially with the kind of loss that I was starting to have. All in all, I walked out with a full head of hair and a great parting. Grace did the build. She was kind, gentle, allowed me to cry. I got hugs from people I never met. It was so safe. Grace added lowlights - a little outside my comfort zone. It was a little nerve wracking however it did have some fun elements to it too. Bring a book, some work, order lunch.

Regular maintenance - and support

My maintenance was more than a “normal” client, in that I was still in an “active loss” stage. I cold capped on TOP of the system. I know that I did not have it as tight as it needed to, even though I tried, with the limitations of the design of the cold cap. The tightening was once every 3 weeks as new connections were made. As I lost more hair, the team expanded the system to cover the loss. The re-align was also a bit sooner for me due to the active loss. I had lost a LOT of hair. It was hard to look at myself, however I declined the privacy because I knew that this was a part of my journey. The parting was replaced at about 6 months. Chastity became my main stylist, and she was so kind. Carefully explaining each new part of the journey.

Each time I went in, the entire team was incredible. I felt safe, comfortable, and not judged. Anyone that comes to gain confidence at LE will feel the same too.

A successful outcome

I’m in remission now. My last appointment with LE was a full removal, and the system was put on clips. My hair was coming in too fast and thick to keep the system on my head. The last appointment was hard. Happy, lovely, hard, memorable… hard. To have a part of my support to keep things “normal” and then all of a sudden, it’s gone. This is cancer. WHEN you get to the other side, it just sort of ends. And something new begins. And this time of the end and new is a hard bridge.

My mother is battling now, however her treatments only cause slight hair thinning. LE gave me a gift of “normal”. I looked normal. I didn’t look sick. So my kids didn’t think I was sick. And I didn’t look sick, so I knew I would be okay. When I shared with my kids that my mom was starting chemo, they said, “You beat cancer. So grandma will too.” Cancer isn’t a scary word anymore. It is just a word. And I beat it.

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