As much as 8% of most cancers sufferers refuse chemotherapy as a result of they don’t need to lose their hair. After all, hair loss could cause immense injury to an individual’s shallowness — however it could actually additionally strip sufferers of their privateness, making their sickness instantly seen to others.
“It’s not about magnificence. It’s about privateness. Take into consideration the instances that you just’ve walked into the grocery retailer or been in an airport and seen someone who clearly is bald and clearly doesn’t have their eyebrows. You’re like, ‘Oh, that individual’s going by most cancers. I really feel actually dangerous for them,’” stated Kate Dilligan.
Dilligan, a breast most cancers survivor, is on a mission to assist chemotherapy sufferers from dropping their hair. Impressed by her personal chemotherapy journey, she based a medical gadget firm named Cooler Heads that sells a transportable and self-administered scalp cooling gadget.
Scalp cooling — which includes medically induced hypothermia on the scalp earlier than, throughout and after chemotherapy — may also help sufferers retain their hair. However most cancers sufferers don’t all the time have entry to this, Dilligan famous.
When Dilligan was present process chemotherapy in 2016 and 2017, she stated the one out there technique for her to maintain her hair had been frozen gel caps.
“These gel caps are actually frozen in dry ice and positioned on and off your head each 25 minutes. The day earlier than my third chemotherapy infusion, the one that was doing that for me — as a result of there’s no manner you’re going to have the ability to do it by yourself as you’re getting chemo — stop,” she stated.
After the corporate that provided this assistant knowledgeable her of the information, Dilligan then insisted a substitute be discovered instantly. She supplied to double the pay — from $500 to $1,000 — in addition to cowl all lodge prices to make sure somebody confirmed up.
This expertise left her feeling powerless, and it highlighted the deep lack of affected person management in most cancers remedy. It’s the entire “why” behind San Diego-based Cooler Heads, which Dilligan based in 2018.
Cooler Heads’ system has two major parts. One is a transportable cooling unit, and the opposite is a capping system designed to induce hypothermia in hair follicles.
The cooling unit is light-weight at 23 kilos. It is usually compact sufficient to suit below an airplane seat and might run on wall energy or battery energy, permitting sufferers to maneuver round freely throughout remedy, Dilligan defined.
The capping system has a number of layers to make sure correct cooling and match. It has a cooling wrap, which circulates coolant from the machine to relax the scalp, in addition to a neoprene compression strap, which ensures even contact between the cooling wrap and the scalp. The system additionally includes a compression cap with air chambers – sufferers alter the match utilizing an air bulb, just like a blood strain cuff, to attain uniform cooling, Dilligan said.
The FDA cleared the gadget in 2021, and suppliers began adopting it in 2022. Dilligan stated sufferers in 23 states are presently utilizing the answer.
Cooler Heads sells its product to well being programs. The answer helps deal with the difficulty of chair time administration, which Dilligan stated has been a significant barrier to suppliers’ scalp cooling adoption.
Since chemotherapy periods are a key income driver for well being programs, infusion chair turnover is an important metric. Two-thirds of Cooler Heads’ clients had by no means supplied scalp cooling earlier than, largely as a result of conventional programs required sufferers to stay within the infusion chair for prolonged intervals.
“We permit the sufferers, after they’re carried out with chemo, to get out of their infusion chair and go someplace else — go to the ready room or another location designated by their infusion middle. As a result of for those who’re the director of most cancers at a well being system, chair time is without doubt one of the most vital metrics that you’ve got,” Dilligan defined.
The portability of Cooler Head’s system helps it stand out from rivals, she famous. In her view, the corporate is going through two predominant rivals within the scalp cooling area, each of that are traded on the Sweden’s inventory change.
The primary is Paxman. Its system serves two sufferers at a time, however it requires sufferers to stay within the infusion chair after chemotherapy, Dilligan identified. She additionally famous that Paxman’s product makes use of a silicone cap — which she stated can turn out to be inflexible when cooled, making it tough to keep up correct contact with the scalp.
Cooler Heads’ different competitor is Dignitana. Dilligan stated its machine is even bigger than Paxman’s, requiring 220-volt energy, which can’t be present in an ordinary outlet. Dignitana’s system additionally wants vital nursing intervention to make sure correct match, and like Paxman, it retains sufferers of their chairs post-chemotherapy for continued cooling, she remarked.
Total, she believes the mission of her firm is to empower most cancers sufferers and hopefully create a actuality the place extra individuals go for life-saving remedy.
Dilligan identified that most cancers sufferers’ need for privateness isn’t nearly avoiding pity from strangers — it’s additionally typically about defending the lives and futures they labored laborious to construct.
“Unexpectedly, you realize you’re not going to get that promotion, you’re not going to get that management position. There’s all this stuff that simply get taken from you since you’re a most cancers affected person. They are going to simply put you within the nook and have you ever sit with a blanket over you,” she stated.
Cooler Heads is about to announce a Collection A fundraising spherical within the subsequent month or two, Dilligan famous.
Photograph: FatCamera, Getty Pictures