Newswise — Seven Hackensack Meridian Health cancer treatment centers are now using the innovative Paxman Scalp Cooling System to prevent or reduce hair loss in patients who are receiving chemotherapy.
The Paxman Scalp Cooling System is used by 271 cancer treatment centers in the U.S. and 19 cancer centers in New Jersey, including Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ; Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, NJ; JFK Medical Center in Edison, NJ; Ocean Medical Center in Brick, NJ; Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen; Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, NJ; and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, NJ.
Hair loss during chemotherapy — also called chemotherapy-induced alopecia — is a common side effect that can have a negative emotional and psychological impact, resulting in depression, stress, loss of self-esteem and loss of privacy. Fear of hair loss can also cause some patients to reject chemotherapy treatment.
“At Hackensack Meridian Health, our goal is to treat cancer while providing patients with the highest possible quality of life,” said Andre Goy, M.D., M.S., physician-in-chief of Oncology, Hackensack Meridian Health. “The Paxman Scalp Cooling System helps our patients look and feel more like themselves during cancer treatment, allowing them to maintain confidence, privacy, hope and a sense of control.”
Chemotherapy works by targeting all rapidly dividing cells in the body. Hair is the second-fastest dividing cell, so hair follicles are susceptible to damage from chemotherapy drugs that results in hair loss.
Scalp cooling is a simple treatment that has been proven to reduce the damage chemotherapy drugs cause to hair follicles. Lowering the temperature of the scalp before, during and after chemotherapy slows cell division in the hair and causes blood vessels in the scalp to narrow, reducing blood flow to the area around the hair follicles. As a result, smaller amounts of chemotherapy drugs are delivered to the hair follicles, which reduces hair loss.
Patients who choose to have scalp-cooling therapy wear the Paxman Scalp Cooling Cap for 30 minutes before chemotherapy infusion, during infusion, and for up to 90 minutes after infusion.
To learn more about the Paxman Scalp Cooling System, visit paxmanusa.com.
For additional information, please contact Katherine Emmanouilidis, Director, Communications & Public Relations, 551-996-3764.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.
Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.
Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 35,000 team members, and 7,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
The network’s notable distinctions include having four hospitals among the top in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker’s Healthcare’s “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2019” list.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University opened in 2018, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its second class of 96 students in 2019 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.
Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.
About John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center
John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center is New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive center dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, management, research, screenings, and preventive care as well as survivorship of patients with all types of cancers. The 14 specialized divisions covering the complete spectrum of cancer care have developed a close-knit team of medical, research, nursing, and support staff with specialized expertise that translates into more advanced, focused care for all patients. Each year, more people in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area turn to John Theurer Cancer Center for cancer care than to any other facility in New Jersey. John Theurer Cancer Center is a member of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Consortium, one of just 16 NCI-approved cancer research consortia based at the nation’s most prestigious institutions. Housed within a 775-bed not-for-profit teaching, tertiary care, and research hospital, John Theurer Cancer Center provides state-of-the-art technological advances, compassionate care, research innovations, medical expertise, and a full range of aftercare services that distinguish John Theurer Cancer Center from other facilities. For additional infor mation, please visit www.jtcancercenter.org.
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