Stage I HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Allison's Survivor Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage I
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive; PR-positive; HER2-positive
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- chemotherapy and supportive care
- Outcome
- Survivorship / Completed Treatment
Treatment course, step by step
- Received Taxol chemotherapy with Paxman cold-cap system
- Cold cap was worn 30 minutes before chemotherapy, during infusion, and 60 minutes afterward
- Iced fingers and toes to help reduce neuropathy risk
- Reported losing about 15% of hair, with eyebrows and eyelashes still affected.
What happened, in summary
Allison Tierney is an oncology dietitian and breast cancer survivor who shared her experience with cold capping during treatment for Stage IA triple-positive breast cancer. The video focused less on diagnosis and more on how she managed chemotherapy-related hair loss.
Allison was able to use the Paxman cold-cap system because she had a solid tumor and was receiving a chemotherapy protocol where cold capping had a reasonable chance of success. She specifically mentioned Taxol as part of her chemotherapy. The cap was connected to a machine that circulated very cold water and cooled the scalp to reduce chemotherapy exposure to the hair follicles.
Her routine was demanding. She wore the cap for about 30 minutes before chemotherapy, during the infusion, and for about 60 minutes afterward. She also iced her fingers and toes to help prevent peripheral neuropathy and found that more uncomfortable than the scalp cooling.
Cold capping worked well for her. Allison estimated that she lost about 15% of her hair, which was not very noticeable to most people, although she did lose eyebrows and eyelashes. As of May 2024, she had recently completed treatment and encouraged newly diagnosed patients to take each step one at a time.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by The Patient Story. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer