The Valley Hospital is now open at 4 Valley Health Plaza in Paramus. (You may need to use 650 Winters Avenue for GPS.) All emergency care is now being provided at this location. Emergency care is no longer available at our Ridgewood campus.
At Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care we offer the latest innovative treatments while caring for the whole person. That is why we offer scalp cooling for patients with solid cancer tumors receiving chemotherapeutic drugs that may lead to hair loss.
The following information is provided by Paxman, our partner in this program.
Scalp cooling is a simple treatment that can help prevent hair loss caused by chemotherapy, also known as chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Not all chemo drugs cause hair loss, but for those that do, scalp cooling is an effective solution.
By cooling the scalp, the blood flow to the area is reduced by 40 percent, meaning that less blood containing the chemotherapy drugs reaches the hair follicles. The cooling also causes the cells in the hair follicles to become dormant, meaning that they no longer rapidly divide. Therefore, any chemotherapy that does reach the follicles, bypass the cells.
The scalp is reduced in temperature to between 68- and 72-degrees Fahrenheit. The result minimizes hair loss and protects the hair follicles.
*You must cold cap at every chemotherapy session to see the benefits of hair retention and the protection of follicles.
Scalp cooling can be used by people with solid cancer tumors receiving alopecia-inducing chemotherapy drugs.
Scalp cooling is contradicted in pediatric patients and patients with the following:
Known side effects include chills, dizziness, headache, nausea, paresthesia (an abnormal sensation such as tingling, pins and needles, or prickling of the skin), sinus pain, and skin ulceration.
All these side effects are temporary or transient in duration and are recognized as presenting a low risk of harm.
Results can vary and it is dependent on multiple factors including chemotherapy regimen, dose, duration of drug infusion, cap fit, and chemotherapy drug metabolism.
Everyone responds differently to scalp cooling.
For more detailed information about the Paxman scalp cooling system, click here.
To find out if scalp cooling is right for you, please speak to your oncologist.
