Baptist Health Care is First in Northwest Florida to Offer Technology to Reduce Hair Loss During Cancer Treatment

6/11/2019

Baptist Health Care is the first in Northwest Florida to offer technology that can reduce hair loss in patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

Baptist now offers a scalp cooling system that uses a specially designed cap to lower the temperature of the scalp before, during and after a chemotherapy treatment. Many chemotherapy drugs damage hair follicles, which causes hair loss. Scalp cooling decreases blood flow to the area around the hair follicles, reducing damage and minimizing hair loss.

Patients undergoing chemotherapy wear the cap 30 minutes prior to receiving their chemotherapy infusion, during the infusion and for up to 90 minutes following the infusion. Scalp cooling is administered throughout the patient’s treatment regimen.

“We are excited to offer scalp cooling at Baptist. It gives our patients the choice of when and how they share their cancer story without the visible message that hair loss can convey. That choice empowers patients and gives them back some control in a challenging time,” said Rachel Forehand, R.N., oncology support services manager at Baptist.

Total hair loss is usually not prevented with scalp cooling but can be greatly reduced. The results vary among individuals, and the treatment is not suitable for every chemotherapy patient.