Cancer survivor’s gift helps cancer patients keep their cool—and hair

For many cancer patients, maintaining a sense of normalcy while undergoing treatment can be a struggle. And hair loss after chemotherapy treatments doesn’t help.

Thankfully, an emerging treatment called “scalp cooling” can reduce the likelihood of infusion-related hair loss. A generous planned gift by Patti Murphy — a breast cancer survivor — will allow infusion patients who couldn’t otherwise afford scalp cooling to avoid hair loss while maintaining their self-image, confidence and sense of well-being.

Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis in 2012, Patti — a retired elementary school teacher from Washington Township — sought treatment at the Ascension St. John Hospital Van Elslander Cancer Center. Patti knew part of her treatment would involve infusion therapy, but she wouldn’t accept the likelihood of hair loss.

“When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t want to see myself bald,” said Patti, 79. “I was determined to not have that reminder of being someone undergoing cancer treatment.”

Patti’s oncologist, Carrie Dul, MD, told her about “cold cap therapy.” Just before and after infusion treatments, patients wear a “cold cap” at sub-zero temperatures that reduces the scalp’s absorption of chemotherapy drugs that can cause hair loss.

Because cold cap therapy was not yet available in the United States, Patti had to rent the equipment from a European vendor and purchase dry ice locally. The process of obtaining and transporting two coolers filled with 50 pounds of dry ice to and from the hospital was cumbersome.

“The caps had to be at a constant -32 degrees Fahrenheit,” Patti said. “I didn’t lose my hair, only my eyebrows and eyelashes. But otherwise no one knew I was going through cancer treatments. Psychologically, keeping my hair helped me get through the treatments.”

In 2015, several years after Patti received infusion treatments, the Food and Drug Administration cleared a product called the DigniCap® Scalp Cooling System. Like the product Patti used, this innovative therapy minimizes hair loss during certain chemotherapy treatments but is easier to use and more comfortable for patients.

Ascension St. John Hospital offers scalp cooling therapy to its cancer patients, but insurance often doesn’t cover the associated costs.

To help eliminate the cost barrier that might prevent some patients from receiving scalp cooling therapy treatments, Patti recently made a generous estate gift to Ascension St. John Foundation to establish the Patricia Murphy Oncology Endowed Fund. The fund will help cover expenses related to scalp cooling treatments and other patient expenses. “I want patients to have the opportunity to try scalp cooling therapy,” Patti said. “The cold cap treatment I received really helped me maintain a sense of normalcy when things weren’t so normal.”

In gratitude for the care she received at Ascension St. John Hospital, Patti also made a generous gift to the hospital’s COVID-19 Fund to help supply personal protective equipment to doctors and staff.

As a side benefit to keeping her hair, Patti has a new appreciation for its natural beauty.

“I used to straighten my hair before cancer, but I couldn’t apply heat to it during my cold cap treatments,” she said. “Ever since my therapy, I’ve let it go natural, and my hair is very curly.”