About Me
At 36 years old, I never thought breast cancer could happen to me.
After finishing residency, starting my practice in dermatology and having a baby, life was just beginning. With no family history, breast cancer was not even on my radar. Postpartum I struggled with low milk supply and re-occurrent mastitis. After a particularly bad bout of mastitis, I discovered it- a firm lump , deep within the center of my breast. Never in my worst nightmares did I ever think it could be cancer. In September of 2017 I went for my first mammogram, and my life forever changed.
I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, primarily HER2+, and underwent 6 courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, a year of herceptin, and double mastectomy. With the amazing synergistic effects of these amazing medications and thanks to the wonderful work of my physicians, I have been in remission for 3 years. I will be forever grateful to the doctors that saved my life.
As a dermatologist, I understand the struggles women face with hair loss on a daily basis, and one of the most emotional aspects of going through chemotherapy as a woman of any age is hair loss. I felt an important need to educate myself on options of hair preservation during chemotherapy and also how to mitigate other dermatologic side effects and symptoms of treatment. I personally underwent cold capping during my treatment, and although it was challenging, I am very thankful to have kept my hair during treatment.
After my experience, I feel a special calling to utilize my knowledge in dermatology with what I had learned about cold capping in my own personal breast cancer treatment journey, and create a website with what I have learned to help others going through the same experience.
This website is not meant to be medical advice, each individual treatment plan is different and you and your oncologist should discuss if cold capping and icing is right for you.
I hope this website is educational and helpful to you or your loved one as you go through your treatment, and good luck!
Sincerely,
Samantha Fisher M.D.