Chemotherapy-induced hair loss is the final indignity of a cancer diagnosis for many women, but a Zelienople woman managed to hang onto her hair throughout and after her infusions through a process called “cold capping.”

Lauren McClain, who teaches English as a second language at Haine Elementary School in Cranberry Township, also wrote a children’s book about the practice that parents who have recently been diagnosed can read to their sons and daughters so they’ll know what to expect regarding cold capping.

“I was diagnosed with cancer shortly after my 40th birthday, so it was a big shock,” said McClain, who is cancer free 15 months after her final treatment.

Her Allegheny Health Network oncologist, Dr. Suzanne Coopey, confirmed that cold capping has the potential to reduce hair loss by reducing blood flow and subsequent uptake of chemotherapy agents by hair follicles.

“Cold capping reduces one of the most visible effects of chemotherapy and can help maintain a sense of normalcy for patients during treatment,” Coopey said.

After her initial diagnosis, McClain endured multiple appointments, scans and tests to determine the best course of action to get rid of the invading cancer.

“I remember finding out that I needed chemo, which just turns your world upside down,” McClain said.

She initially had surgery, where it was discovered that a lymph node was involved. That necessitated the chemotherapy, McClain said.

In the throes of her diagnosis, McClain happened upon a TikTok video about cold capping before, during and after chemotherapy treatments to prevent the drug from affecting the follicles.

When her course of treatment was decided upon, McClain learned her chemotherapy drug was a particularly harsh one that could even cause permanent alopecia — or hair loss — in women.

“I looked into it, and once I found out what kind of chemo was needed, I knew I could use it and it could work,” McClain said.

While many cancer treatment centers offer stationary scalp cooling systems that use a temperature of about 32 degrees, McClain opted for Penguin Cold Caps, which the woman in the video used.

“They go to negative 35 degrees Fahrenheit,” McClain said.

Her oncologist and surgical oncologist both were behind the concept of cold capping.

“The oncologists and I were on the same page,” McClain said.

Coopey said saving women’s hair during chemo can be beneficial to the patient.

“Hair loss can be an emotionally traumatic side effect for women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer,” Coopey.

On the morning of her first infusion in early February 2023, McClain’s husband, Matt, went to Pittsburgh to buy 50 pounds of dry ice.

He brought the dry ice home and laid the cooling caps on top of the ice as instructed by Penguin Cold Capping.

An hour before her first infusion, Matt helped pull the frigid cap onto his wife’s head.

The cap is changed every 25 minutes until 3 or 4 hours after returning home from a chemotherapy session, McClain said.

Because her treatments at the AHN Cancer Institute at the Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion lasted 4 to 5 hours, McClain spent much of her treatment days wrapped in two heated blankets and a heating pad.

“It feels miserable,” McClain said of wearing the cap. “It does make you so cold for the whole day.”

She said by the second treatment, though, only the first hour was torturous.

“Then, your head kind of goes numb,” McClain said. “It’s weird. It’s still not comfortable, but it’s tolerable.”

McClain was the only one using a Penguin Cold Cap during her treatments.

“I know it’s a lot more popular for young women,” McClain said. “I got some stares for sure, but no one really asked.”

Between the first and final chemotherapy treatment, and for a while afterward, Penguin Cold Cap users can only wash their hair very gently once per week in cold water.

Hair can only be gently combed with a wide-tooth comb and cannot be brushed. No buns or ponytails at the top of the head are allowed, and only a silk scrunchy at the nape of the neck can be used to pull the hair back. No blow dryers, curling irons or other processing can be used.

“I really didn’t leave my house too much during chemo,” McClain said.

The results of the cold capping were amazing, as most women receiving the chemotherapy drug McClain had are usually bald by the second treatment.

“I could go out, and no one knew I was going through chemo,” McClain said.

She did have some shedding after the second round of chemo, which she was told to expect.

“I remember my first big shed ... and I thought, ‘This isn’t worth it. Why am I doing this?,’” McClain said.

But that was her only large shed in the four total chemo treatments she received.

“My hair was very thin, but no one could tell that I had lost hair except myself and my husband,” McClain said.

While most women hate the thought of losing their hair to chemotherapy, McClain had three little reasons for going with the cold capping.

“The reason I did it is I have three young kids, and I didn’t want them to see me as sick,” she said. “I wanted to keep things as normal as possible.”

She and Matt explained the caps to the kids, who were 10, 9 and 5 at the time, so they weren’t shocked to see their mother wearing it.

McClain said her parents and Matt’s parents helped care for the kids on chemo days, when she would lie on the couch wrapped in heated blankets until 6 p.m.

Matt also was largely unavailable to the kids while the caps were being used, as he rotated them on the dry ice and took them on and off his wife’s head every 25 minutes.

“They knew just to kind of leave me alone,” she said. “When it was my last cap, we had a little countdown, and I just ripped it off my head.”

Because she took the remainder of the school year off when she began chemotherapy, McClain took a walk outside every day.

She had always wanted to write a children’s book, but knew she would need a unique subject because the market is so saturated with authors.

“On my walk one day, I thought ‘I don’t remember seeing any (books) about a mom going through chemo and cold capping,” McClain said.

She recalled asking a nurse at one of her appointments if she had any children’s books she could use to help break the news of her cancer to her kids.

“They were all about how Mom is going to be bald, and Mom is going to need a wig, so I politely declined because that was not my situation,” McClain said.

Knowing she had an unfamiliar topic that could be useful to families going through cancer, McClain wrote “Mom’s Magical Crown: A Cold Capping Adventure.” The book is available online.

She partnered with the Hair To Stay Foundation and the Cap and Conquer Foundation, which provide a subsidy to families who can’t afford the cold cap systems.

The foundations promote her book, and she donates a portion of her book sales to the foundations.

“My long-term goal is to get the book all over the U.S. to oncology and cancer centers, and worldwide as well,” McClain said.

The Mayo Clinic and other top medical providers have touted cold capping, but the practice is not covered by insurance because it is considered cosmetic.

An article on the American Cancer Society’s website states that newer scalp cooling caps that remain tight to the head have been shown to reduce hair loss, and many have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. An article on the Mayo Clinic website touts the potential benefits of cold capping.

“One of the biggest reasons for writing the book was bringing more awareness to it,” McClain said. “I think it’s becoming more popular.”