Cold Cap Therapy Midwest, LLC is a consulting & service company in St. Paul, Minnesota that opened its doors in 2009. Cold Cap Therapy Midwest provides assistance to our clients with capping, training, and gives helpful advice and support throughout the Cold Cap Therapy process and chemotherapy journey. We are a separate company from Penguin Cold Caps. We help our clients rent caps from Penguin Cold Caps, answer questions, and support our clients before, during and after chemotherapy so they can achieve their goals. Start Now

Frank Fronda is the founder of Penguin Cold Caps, a small, family-owned company located in London, England. He is also the scientist behind the technology used in Cold Cap Therapy (CCT), and has spent over 25 years researching and building the Penguin Cold Cap Therapy System. Used commonly in hospitals and clinics in Europe, we are happy to share that patients in the U.S. have used Penguin Cold Caps for over 14 years with a success rate of approximately 92%.

Every hair on the body grows out of a hair follicle. Small blood vessels in the scalp supply the cells in the hair follicles with nutrients and oxygen, and carries away waste products. Chemotherapy drugs in the bloodstream will be carried to the hair follicles. When blood vessels in the scalp are cooled they become smaller, so less blood flows through them. Cooling the scalp during chemotherapy means that less of the chemotherapy drug reaches the hair follicles, so the hair is less likely to fall out. Penguin Cold Caps has a specially designed crylon gel filled cap that can be frozen to a particular degree and then placed and fitted snugly on any head shape or size. As a manual cap, every 25 minutes the cap is exchanged for a new colder cap. The caps are worn for an hour before chemo begins, during chemo, and (usually) 4 hours after chemo. This ensures that most of the chemo drugs have gone through the liver which is extremely important in the CCT process.

Scalp cooling with Penguin Cold Caps can be very effective in preventing or reducing the loss of hair. Penguin claims a 92% success rate. Despite scalp cooling, the hair may thin. This process is called shedding. Shedding happens to almost everyone, but the amount of shedding is different for every person. This is often dependent upon how well a client follows the guidelines and protocol for capping. Unfortunately, there are a few other factors that can affect hair shedding that are beyond anyone's control. Some of these include: the client's particular metabolism, digestive shock (likely due to stress which delays the liver from cleaning the chemo drugs from the body), diet, medications, recent surgeries, stress level, initial hair health, and hydration before, during, and after chemotherapy. If the caps are applied correctly, there should not be patching or bald spots on the scalp, but merely an overall thinning of the scalp. Although the client may see and feel the hair has become thinner during treatment, usually others will not be able to see the thinning. Cold Cap Therapy Midwest has a 98% success rate, meaning that 98% of our clients choose not to quit and purchase a wig, even though there was shedding.

Many chemotherapy patients, both men and women, can use Cold Cap Therapy. Your specific drug treatment plan and various health factors will need to be considered. Check-out the tab "Drug Compatibility" to see if the drugs you will be using make you a good candidate. If you do not see your specific drugs mentioned, feel free to contact Penguin Cold Caps for further help.

The first few caps in Penguin's Cold Cap Therapy process are quite cold and uncomfortable. After this, however, the scalp numbs from the cold which makes the process fully tolerable. Note: Infusion drugs often make patients cold because of the ambient or refrigerated temperature of the fluids being administered into the circulatory system. This is why chemo clinics always supply warm blankets and patients are often told to dress warm.

Practice makes perfect. We recommend either our Friends & Family Training or hiring us for full service capping at your clinic and home in order to get the best possible results. Option 1: Friends & Family Training (half-day private workshop) Helpers need to learn the delicate and intricate process of Cold Cap Therapy in a hands-on setting. If you choose a team effort of friends and family capping, a minimum of one person assisting you is essential, and two is better, but not critical. The helper(s) not only rotates, prepares, and changes out warm caps to cold caps all day; they also keep track of the time, ensure hydration throughout the day, and help maintain your comfort and warmth. Each complete cap change needs to occur in less than 6 minutes, and the actual scalp exposure time between caps must be only a few seconds. To be successful, your team must do their job efficiently and know their job well. Again, practice makes perfect and good training is essential for optimal results. Option 2: Full service capping Hiring us for full service capping means you won't need to worry about anything. You have enough on your plate. Our capping consultant will be fully in charge and responsible so family and friends don't have to be. The capping consultant brings dry ice, a cooler, the caps, straps, and all the other items needed with her, including years of experience to keep everything running smoothly. Clients just bring a good book or the magazines they never have time to read, and put their feet up.

Not at all! Cold Cap Therapy can be used by anyone. We have worked with men who were professionals and/or wanted privacy about their cancer from those around them.

Good question! Please check out our subpage here: ABOUT US > A Different Kind of Company. Cold Cap Therapy Midwest has an extensive training program for our capping consultants.

Over the past decade of service, 98% of our clients have said they were glad they used us for CCT services. Most of our clients have been so happy with their results that they want to "give back" and are willing to talk with potential clients about Cold Cap Therapy Midwest. Feel free to ask for our reference document where you can find the names and phone numbers of past clients. This includes what kind of cancer they had and what kind of services they used with us. We would love for you to talk with them first-hand. You may also look at our Testimonials page.

Cold Cap Therapy Midwest and Penguin Cold Caps are two separate businesses and costs are associated with each. You can find more information about cold cap therapy services by clicking here: Services & Pricing Find out more information about Penguin's Rental Fees here: Penguin Cold Caps

Probably not, but you can check with your individual insurance provider. Note that even if CCT is not covered at this time, insurance plans and benefits evolve. As the cost of CCT caps is likely to be comparable to the cost of a real hair or non-synthetic medically prescribed wig, insurance acceptance of CCT is likely to grow. In fact, both CCT cap rental and a medically prescribed wig should be treated as a cranial hair prosthesis. Some insurance plans will cover cap rental, services, and even dry ice, so it is worth checking out. Cold Cap Therapy Midwest has had clients that were able to collect insurance reimbursement after their treatments were finished. When the time comes, we will help you go about the process with written documentation for your insurance company.

Study the Penguin Cold Caps website here: Penguin Cold Caps Contact us with any questions you might have concerning the CCT process either by phone or by clicking here: Contact Us Once you are ready to commit to the Cold Cap Therapy process, fill out and submit the rental Application Form on Penguin's website here: Penguin Application Once there is approval from Penguin's headquarters, the caps will be available in the Twin Cities area from Cold Cap Therapy Midwest. We will inform you on how to receive the caps. ​Finally, make a decision on how much help you would like with your CCT needs. Training, full service, consulting, and hands-on services are available through Cold Cap Therapy Midwest to make things less stressful, safer, and more successful for you. You may begin here: Register Now or call (612) 396-6075. We look forward to hearing from you.