Cancer patients at risk of losing their hair as a side-effect of chemotherapy treatment now have double the opportunity to preserve it thanks to the arrival of a second pioneering anti-hair loss system at Rosemere Cancer Centre, which has been bought by Rosemere Cancer Foundation.

The charity has just spent £25,200 on a new Paxman Scalp Cooling System for the centre’s Chemotherapy Department, which treats patients from across Lancashire and South Cumbria that will complement the system already there.

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Dan Hill, the charity’s chief officer, said: “Not all chemotherapy medicines cause hair loss but for patients on those treatments that do, hair loss can be one of the hardest things about having cancer. Such a dramatic, outwardly visible physical change can have a massive negative impact on some people – both men and women.

“The centre’s Paxman system was in very high demand to the point where a second system was necessary. There is extensive evidence to show that the system is highly effective in combatting chemotherapy induced hair loss and in some patients, it can even completely preserve their hair.

“Keeping their hair can help patients have a more positive attitude towards treatment as well as giving them back a sense of control. Also, it can help maintain privacy.

“Hair loss is such a tell-tale sign of chemo and there are patients, who don’t want other people knowing they have cancer just by looking at them. They prefer to keep it private.”

The cooling system works by significantly reducing blood flow to the scalp, which results in less chemotherapy medicine reaching the hair follicles.

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The money Rosemere Cancer Foundation spent on the system included a £5,200 donation from the Medicash Foundation, the charitable arm of the Liverpool based health insurer Medicash, and a £2,500 award from the David Brooke Charity.

Rosemere Cancer Foundation also spent a £1,099.07 donation from Penwortham supporter Amy Mills, (32), on the scalp cooling system.

Amy underwent 18 weeks of chemotherapy in 2020 as part of her treatment for breast cancer. The mum-of-two raised the money from a toy and cake sale in Penwortham United Reformed Church at the end of last year.

She also founded volunteer brigade Amy’s Army, which walked to raise an earlier donation of £12,342 that was put towards an ultrasound system bought by Rosemere Cancer Foundation for Rosemere Cancer Centre’s Chemotherapy Department.

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