A breast cancer survivor is lobbying for the introduction of cold caps at Mater Dei Hospital for cancer sufferers in order to help them keep their hair despite the intensive treatment that generally causes its loss.

“When someone has to go through chemotherapy, losing hair is very difficult… I did my chemotherapy privately because I was lucky at the time to have insurance and I could make use of the cold cap,” breast cancer survivor Sue Domancich told Lovin Malta. 

Domancich became part of a local NGO with the aim of helping others battling a breast cancer diagnosis.

“I did not lose my hair during chemo and that gave me a lot of strength.  I involved myself in this committee on purpose to try and make people aware that there can be an option and not necessarily lose the hair.”

According to Domancich, she has been lobbying for the introduction of cold caps in the public hospital, along with other NGOs, but reaching and convincing key state actors has proved to be difficult.

A cold cap is a hat that is worn during some chemotherapy treatments. Its cooling effect reduces blood flow to the scalp, which also reduces the amount of chemotherapy medication that reaches this area, helping prevent hair loss.

Speaking to Lovin Malta, Domancich explained a bit about her experience with the cold cap, detailing how worth it the treatment was for her despite the pain that accompanied it.

“Yes it is painful but I had some painkillers and sleeping pills during the infusion. That helped me not to feel pain.  Freezing my scalp to -5°C was not easy but I did not wish to lose my hair.  I had eight doses of chemotherapy.”

However, Domancich was determined to not lose her hair, and seeing the results of the treatment only motivated her to continue. 

“During the treatment, I felt normal in the sense that people who saw me could not tell that I was going through chemo because I did not lose my hair.  The fact that I did not lose my hair gave me strength,” she explained.

“I’ll be honest, it wasn’t easy – it was very painful. But I was determined not to lose my hair.”

Thankfully, it worked for Domancich and she was able to keep most of the hair on her head besides a part of her fringe. All other hair she had on her body fell due to the intensity of the medication. In fact, she explained that she had to tattoo her eyebrows and would stick on magnetic eyelashes.

The cold cap has to be worn for an hour before and after every chemo session, turning three-hour infusion sessions to five.

In Domancich’s case, she had a treatment session every two weeks for six months, so before and after each of these, she would have to do an hour with the cap on, freezing her scalp to prevent the chemotherapy from reaching it.

Moreover, Domancich went on to say that while health always comes first, she wants to show people that there are options and hopes to make this alternative more accessible to everyone through its introduction at Mater Dei.

Currently, the cold cap is only available at private clinics and it can only be done when chemotherapy is also done privately.

Do you think that the government should invest in the cold cap treatment for cancer patients at Mater Dei?