Testimony

Testimony by Sophie Truesdell-Ménard

Lawyer, accredited mediator and arbitrator, President and Founder of *"Garde tes cheveux"*

CHUM, 4 AC and 12 Taxol

2017

The feeling of having my hair around my face, on my shoulders, down my back... it was precious!

Before

During

After

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see a bald woman? Cancer, of course. I didn't want to wear that label of "cancer patient." I didn't want to see pity in people's eyes, sorrow in my lover's eyes, fear in my children's eyes every time they looked at me. However, with stage 3, grade 3 breast cancer, chemotherapy was inevitable if I wanted to live: 4 AC treatments followed by 12 Taxol over 6 months. And those terrible words were spoken: "It is certain that you will lose all your hair after the first treatment." My twins were 7 years old at the time, and my son was 3. I had an exciting career, a loving husband, and the life of my dreams. I had no risk factors: I was active, had a healthy lifestyle, no history of female cancer in the family, balanced, fulfilled, and happy. This diagnosis at 40 felt like a lightning strike: unexpected, improbable, unfair. Then, I received information that changed everything: the cooling cap technique that allows you to keep your hair. It involves wearing extremely cold gel caps before, during, and after chemotherapy treatment. Cooling the hair follicles this way causes vasoconstriction, which limits the amount of chemotherapy toxins that can reach them. I immediately discussed it with my oncologist, who said, "I don't think it will work well with AC, but you can give it a try." I thought that even if it failed, I wouldn't regret not trying. So, I rented cooling caps and enlisted my husband in the project. On the first day of chemotherapy, this whole protocol consumed our attention, leaving less room for panic. We had something to do, strict instructions to follow, a tightly scheduled routine, and most importantly, hope and control over something in this destabilizing treatment plan. The first cap: wow! It's cold, -35 degrees Celsius! It's a shock. But a few minutes later, you get used to it, and the sensation of a "frozen brain" that reminds you of childhood and its "slush" excesses disappears. What a sense of pride to show up at my appointments and subsequent treatments with my hair, week after week, for 6 months! It was always a surprise to the hospital staff and other patients, who were very intrigued by our huge cooler emitting dry ice fumes and our non-stop teamwork. Yes, I did lose some hair: about 40% of my initial volume, according to my hairdresser. Even though I could see the loss of volume and the sparser areas, I developed several tricks that concealed it enough to go unnoticed: no one could have guessed that I was undergoing chemotherapy. The feeling of having my hair around my face, on my shoulders, down my back... it was precious! I found myself loving the wind that blew my hair onto my face, in my mouth, in my eyes, to remind me of that first victory in my oncology journey. *- Sophie* [https://gardetescheveux-staging.netlify.app/en/sophie-truesdell-m%C3%A9nard/](**See Sophie's profile**)

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Testimony by Sophie Truesdell-Ménard

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