WITH ADOUBLEFAMILYCANCERTRAGEDY
It was because of Barnaby that Ailsa decided to have a pioneering scalp cooling treatment during her chemotherapy sessions.
“When I was given the diagnosis, I was told I would lose my hair,’” she says. “I have heard from other people how traumatic it is to lose your hair – so many people say it’s the worst thing about the treatment. I was worried how it would affect Barnaby.
“I suspected that even if I told him I was going to get better, if I looked ill and bald, he wouldn’t believe me, and my appearance would add to his fears.
“It was so important that I kept my hair, which is why I decided to give scalp cooling a try. I didn’t have anything to lose.”
Ailsa used the Paxman Scalp Cooling System before, during and after each of her chemotherapy sessions at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre and as a result, she kept most of her hair.
“I could see that my hair had thinned, but if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t notice any difference,” she says.
“It made such a difference to me – I had been scared about what Barnaby would feel if he’d seen me without hair, what a shock like that might have done to him after all he had been through. And of course, that would have been equally traumatic for me, to see him go through that.”
Ailsa’s treatment continues, but she says having kept her hair has made a huge difference to her.
“I sometimes wore a headband to disguise my thinned parting, but I didn’t wear a wig or scarves at all,” she says.
“The hair I lost is growing back and I’ve been able to go back to work with confidence in my appearance.”
The cap is made from lightweight silicone, so it moulds to your head shape and size. Liquid coolant passes through it, extracting heat from the scalp and reducing the amount of chemotherapy drugs reaching the hair follicles.
The machines at the Beatson are funded by Walk the Walk, the UK’s largest cancer grantmaking charity.
Ailsa adds: “It doesn’t work for everyone, but it worked for me. It can be a bit uncomfortable but you get used to it. I just wrapped up, stuck The Archers on my headphones and tried to relax for an hour and a half.”
Ailsa says she has been grateful for the support of family and friends, plus local charities Maggie’s and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice. Now she is looking to the future and, she says, “taking one day at a time”.
“We got great support from the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice after Robert died, and Barnaby really benefited from their Butterfly Project for young people,” she says.
“He also took up tae kwon do, which he had just started before his dad died. He loves it – it’s a small club and they have been very supportive.”
Ailsa adds: “I have to be realistic. Yes, the treatments are not very nice, but they are very effective and that’s what I am focusing on.”