Bitten Troest , 49 years old, works as a quality coordinator. Has two adult sons and lives in Odense.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2022. Has undergone 2 surgeries, 6 chemo treatments and 15 radiation treatments. Now receiving anti-hormone treatment and has been declared cancer-free.
When you look at yourself in the mirror and everything looks the same, you feel less sick, says Bitten, who has received both chemotherapy and radiation treatment during her illness. The doctors had prepared her for total hair loss, but during each treatment, a friend helped change cold caps for Bitten, who kept most of her hair and her normal reflection in the mirror.
WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU THAT YOU KEPT MOST OF YOUR HAIR AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY?
I think it has helped me through the process in a completely different way than if I had been bald. When you can recognize yourself in the mirror, it does something to your self-image and belief that you will succeed. If I had lost my hair, I would look sick, and I also think that I would then think that I was sick every time I looked at myself in the mirror. It has meant a lot to me to be allowed to just be Bitten and not “Chemo-Bitten”.
I have had very few side effects from chemotherapy. Not everyone is so lucky, and of course you don't decide for yourself whether you get sick or have side effects. But I believe that you get through it more easily if you look like yourself. If I saw myself in the mirror without hair, my brain would think that I was sick because I looked sick. Because I have looked like myself, I have been allowed to go ahead of the disease, so that people have seen and met me – Bitten – and not my disease.
WHAT DOES YOUR HAIR MEAN TO YOU?
Hair is part of my femininity. I'm not sure I'd look particularly girly without it, and I don't think I'd be a good-looking bald woman either. I'd look sick – and feel sick.
You shed hair even if you use the caps. One day, when I was in the shower, I ran my hand through my hair and a rather large tuft came out. “Now I’m going to lose it all!” I thought, but I didn’t. I’ve lost maybe 40 percent over the entire process, but it’s been evenly distributed, so the hair has become thinner, but you’d have to know me well to see that. My eyebrows became almost non-existent, but I drew them up so that you wouldn’t notice.
HOW HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN WITH THE COLD CAPS?
At the hospital they told me, “This will make you lose your hair.” But my cousin googled it and found out that you don’t have to lose all your hair if you use cold caps, and so I just thought I SHOULD try it.
I had chemo for an hour and a half each time and used 10 cold caps, which my friend changed every twenty minutes – both before the treatment, during and on the way home in the car. So in total she has changed 60 cold caps on me during my entire course! And no, it is not comfortable. It is like when you eat ice cream too quickly and you get brain freeze – it just lasts a little longer, but the first cap is the worst, then you slowly get used to the cold. I had blankets over me and had hot tea, and then I endured.
Along the way, I have done everything I can to protect my hair, and I have avoided blow-drying, coloring and styling tools and only combed it in the morning. My hair growth was 6 centimeters on each side in the end! Today I shed less than before I got sick, and my hair has regained its thickness – maybe it has even become a little thicker.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE GREATEST SUPPORT FOR YOU DURING YOUR PROGRESS - BOTH EMOTIONALLY AND PRACTICALLY?
For me, it has been a huge support to have the same friend with me every time, because it is important that the caps fit correctly and are changed quickly, and then you don't have to explain everything to a new person every time. It also ended up being a good quality time for us every time.
Both family and friends were good at respecting that I didn't want to be made sick, and that I would do everything to keep my hair. At the hospital, they also respected that I needed extra space for a cooler bag, cold caps, and my friend – but they said outright that they didn't believe it would work. Even though they could see that it did, at least for me.
In terms of work, it was a huge support that I was allowed to adjust my tasks to fit in with various treatments and check-ups. This meant that I could work during the entire treatment process and I am sure that made a huge difference for me. I needed to have a daily routine and not walk around alone at home while friends and family were at work.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHERS WHO ARE FACING POSSIBLE HAIR LOSS?
Don't listen to those who say it doesn't work. Be stubborn and give these cold caps a try, even if they are not comfortable. When you hit the cold wall with the first cap, keep going - it gets easier with each cap, and you will be less affected by them because your head is already cooled down.
4 ADVICES FROM BITTEN:
1. Make sure you have someone with you to keep track of the cooler bag, cold caps and time – you can't change the caps yourself with a drip in your arm. It can be the same one so you don't have to explain it to someone new every time.
2. Be stubborn and persevere – even if the doctors say it won't work.
3. Don't use styling tools, comb your hair gently and wash it as little as possible.
4. If you have long hair, put it in a loose ponytail – this way you won't have to mess with it (run your hands through it) or pull at your hair during the day.