PADUCAH, Ky. (WSIL) -- Texas 4000 is a University of Texas organization, working to combat cancer.
Their team recently donated $10,000 to Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital to help fund their Cold Cap Therapy program.
Since the fall of 2019, Mercy Health Lourdes has been providing
cancer patients with their cold cap therapy program. The hospital is reportedly the first in its region to offer it for free.
But how does it work?
"It's a very cold cap that you wear on your head. And you wear it for about 30 minutes before the chemotherapy infusion begins and the duration of the chemo and then up to an hour after the chemo is administered and that keeps the chemo from in your hair follicles," said president of the Mercy Health Foundation, Jessica Toren.
Scalp cooling has been proven to be effective in preventing chemotherapy hair loss, with women retaining up to 90% of their hair. Toren says
it's made a difference in the confidence of their patients.
"We had a friend of a friend who had utilized it. She said, 'you know, I didn't want my kids to see my sick and if my kids saw me without hair, they would know mommy is sick. And so it's not a vanity thing I just didn't want my kids to know what's going on,'" she said.
The program is usually funded by local donors, but recently received a $10,000 donation from Texas 4000.
To be able to know this $10,000 is here and can help several women through this process is fantastic. I live in this community and I know patients who've gone through this and to know we can offer that is a real blessing," she said.
Toren says this money will be a huge boost for the hospital.
