GREENSBORO, N.C. — Cone Health is offering cancer patients a treatment option that can prevent hair loss during chemotherapy.
The cancer center is one of only a few in the region with access to a "DigniCap" machine. Eighteen patients have used the machine so far, for a total of 59 treatments.
It freezes patients' hair follicles, so the chemotherapy doesn't affect them. During this Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Spectrum News 1 spoke to a woman battling the diseases and has had great success with the machine.
“That was just something that I felt like I had a little bit of control over. I had control over keeping that little DigniCap on, and it paid off. So, that was a silver lining in this rough 2020,” patient Amanda Dove said. “It just meant so much for me to be able to get past that obstacle, that hurdle of the cancer diagnosis.”
Insurance does not cover DigniCap treatments, so it can cost patients up to $3,000 for regular treatments. Doctors are looking for donors to offset patients' out-of-pocket costs.
If you're interested, you can go to conehealth.com/giving and search for the alight fund.