OCOEE, Fla.– A cancer medical diagnoses is never ever a simple tablet to swallow, and it’s typically related to the really challenging choice to go through chemotherapy treatment. For Raquel Giorgio it implied precisely that, in addition to the everyday issue of what life would appear like throughout the battle she had ahead.

” My universe came to a stop, and I was filled with worry, and I questioned if I was going to pass away,” Giorgio stated. “I questioned if I was going to make it through chemotherapy. It was a long journey that was detailed for me, and I simply questioned if I might make it through everything.”

On top of those concerns, Giorgio shared issues about losing her hair, which prevails for a great deal of individuals with cancer. Nevertheless, Giorgio existed with a special chance to attempt to conserve as much of her hair as possible throughout her year-long fight.

Though authorities at Orlando Health stated that the treatment was not ensured to work, Giorgio accepted attempt something called the Paxman Scalp Cooling machine: a cold cap that is linked to a maker that flows freezing cold water to the capillary that provide the hair roots, minimizing the quantity of chemotherapy that reaches the hair roots.

The Paxman Scalp Cooling device permits cancer clients to experience less loss of hair when going through chemotherapy. (Spectrum News/Jaclyn Harold)

” And as an outcome, clients experience considerably less loss of hair,” stated Dr. Regan Rostorfer, an oncologist at Orlando Health.

Authorities state the treatment has actually achieved success sometimes, and the healthcare facility has actually even increased the variety of Paxman makers they have offered. Nevertheless, the journey through treatment was not a simple one, and an effective experience may not have actually been possible if the cancer was not captured early.

” Following the medical diagnosis, I called her, and I stated I’m going to get a wig, and I require it to look precisely like my hair. So, we went through a series of 2 wigs to discover the best one and colored it to look precisely like my hair and suffice to look precisely like my hair,” Giorgio stated.

It wasn’t a swelling in the breast and even a mammogram that assisted Giorgio leap begin her battle versus breast cancer. Rather, it was going above and beyond and merely requesting for an ultrasound.

” I didn’t feel anything,” stated Giorgio. “You need to get your mammogram, however when you’re at your medical care center or at your gynecologist, you need to request for an ultrasound.”

Giorgio was detected with breast cancer in 2023, however she states due to thick breast, her medical diagnosis may have come at a much later time.

” If we had actually waited on another mammogram, it would have been a year from now, and this would have been a totally various story, and I would not be as delighted as I am today,” Giorgio stated.

For a year, she went through chemotherapy treatment, combined with the scalp cooling treatment. Giorgio stated the procedure was challenging since of the extreme cold on her head, however in the end, she shared it was all worth it.

” I was so terrified that I ‘d appear like a cancer client and I would venture to state that throughout this entire time, I have actually handled to look similar to myself, which made me feel a bit more typical,” she stated.

” We ‘d damp my hair down, and it would be totally damp. We then needed to put conditioner on it, and after that you put this cap on that you need to get as tight as possible since if it’s not tight, it’s not going to work. And if we’re going to go through all of this, we’re going to ensure it works,” Giorgio stated.

A lot of treatments began with an hour-and-a-half of enabling the treatment to freeze her head initially before the chemo treatment would be begun. After enduring chemo for about an hour to an hour and-a-half, Giorgio stated she sat another hour-and-a-half to permit the scalp cool treatment to thaw. The treatment is likewise not covered by insurance coverage and varies in prices from $100 to $350.

Though the medical diagnosis and the journey to beat cancer was not something Giorgio might have ever thought of for herself, she states she was blessed to have a support group that assisted to keep her positive, and with the scalp cooling treatment effectively assisting to keep her hair, looking excellent assisted her to feel excellent throughout her procedure.