Stella Serrao used a scalp cooling cap during chemotherapy — and now she wants California lawmakers to ensure every patient can afford the same choice.
When Stella Serrao of Brentwood received her diagnosis — invasive ductal carcinoma, triple negative — last August, she began preparing for a year of chemotherapy. Among the decisions she faced was one most patients never expect: whether to spend nearly $900 out-of-pocket on a technology that could help her keep her hair.
She chose to try the Paxman scalp cooling cap. The device cools the scalp to or below zero degrees Celsius during and after each treatment session, constricting blood flow to hair follicles and slowing the uptake of chemotherapy drugs that cause hair loss…