Memorandum in Support: A.0038 (Rosenthal)/S.2063 (Stavisky) – Coverage of Scalp Cooling Devices to Preserve Hair During Chemotherapy Treatment
Astoria/Queens SHARE-ING and CARE-ING, Inc. dba SHAREing & CAREing applauds the NYS Assembly and Senate in passing this must needed legislation and urges Governor Hochul to sign this bill into law.
Astoria/Queens SHARE-ING and CARE-ING, Inc. dba SHAREing & CAREing was founded in 1994 by four breast cancer survivors in response to the lack of breast cancer services in Queens County and to improve the lives of those living with cancer. We are a one-stop, grassroots, community-based organization which provides FREE bi-lingual supportive services to cancer survivors and their families as well as cancer awareness and health & wellness education to the broader community, annually serving about 4000 individuals.
Our aim is to reduce fear and eliminate cultural and financial barriers in order to promote early detection and treatment as well as to improve access to life-saving cancer screenings, treatment and health care.
From our experience as survivors, allies and advocates, the most common fears of women facing breast cancer are the possibility of dying from the disease, losing their breasts and losing their hair. Scalp cooling therapy—first approved by the FDA in 2015 for the use by breast cancer patients—has successfully addressed one of these fears.
While results vary from patient to patient, one study submitted to the FDA in support of scalp cooling devices demonstrated that more than half the patients lost less than 50% of their hair, compared with universal loss among the control group. In addition, scalp cooling also allows hair regrowth to begin even while chemotherapy is ongoing and prevents damage to the hair follicles which normally occurs during chemotherapy, so patients don’t end up with “chemo hair” when new growth comes in. Even when scalp cooling isn’t fully effective in preventing hair loss, patients experience much better outcomes regarding hair regrowth.
We learned of scalp cooling treatment during the COVID pandemic when our Founder and President was diagnosed with a second primary breast cancer diagnosis in 2020, 27 years after being first diagnosed. At that time scalp cooling devices were not covered under Medicare. She paid for her treatment, out-of-pocket, at a cost of over $4000. It was expensive and the treatment was extremely cold and uncomfortable but it was successful!
In 2021 Medicare began covering scalp cooling. Many health plans however, continue to reject this treatment on the grounds that it is cosmetic, despite the well-documented importance of mitigating the side-effects of cancer treatment. Unlike our Founder, most patients do not have the resources to pay for scalp cooling treatment on their own if they are denied insurance coverage.
Scalp cooling is not for everyone but this treatment should be available and covered by insurance for those who wish to utilize it. Patient care and treatment should not be limited to those who can afford it.
On behalf of the Queens cancer community and those we serve, SHAREing & CAREing urges the immediate enactment of A.038/S.2063 into law.
