A Deal woman who retained most of her hair throughout chemotherapy has put it down to a cold cap she used throughout her treatment.

Mandee Castle, of Canada Road, Walmer, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 at the age of 45.

After expressing that keeping her locks was important, she decided to give a scalp cooling treatment a go at the recommendation of a friend who has also tried it and retained her hair.

Mandee said: “We have an amazing support group in the town called BC Girls of Deal.

“I heard about scalp cooling from one of the girls there who had kept her hair a few months ahead of me.

“The hospital told me it was a 50-50 chance of working.

“Keeping my hair was important to me so I decided to give it a go.”

'Keeping my hair was important to me so I decided to give it a go.' - Mandee

Four years on, Mandee has become one of the UK’s first Paxman Pioneers after only losing some of her hair.

She wore the Paxman Scalp Cooling System before, during and after her chemotherapy sessions at Kent & Canterbury Hospital.

Mandee said: “At first, no one seemed very enthusiastic about me trying scalp cooling.

“I was warned about the cold sensation and how it would lengthen my treatment a little, but I wanted to give it a go.

“I had done my own research so I knew to dampen my hair before treatment.

“I persevered and I am so glad I did.

“Overall, I only lost about 40 to 50% of my hair, but with my hats and headbands I could do comb-overs to cover any patchy areas.”

Hair loss is a well-known side effect of most chemo procedures, which can often add to the trauma of what the individual is already going through.

“The treatment was cold,” she said, “but I’ve been colder. It did make treatment longer but I was happy with the results.

“It meant it was up to me who knew I was having treatment for cancer.

“I would and have recommended scalp cooling.

“I think there needs to be more information available to the patient and everyone involved in their care to spread the word about the use and benefits of the cold cap.”

The system has been dubbed “world leading” when it comes to patients using it to retain their hair.

It has been used more than 100,000 patients in 32 countries.

Richard Paxman, managing director of Paxman, said: “We receive fantastic feedback from patients, family, friends, medical professionals and many more on a daily basis.

“We would like to hand over to people like Mandee so they can tell their story, share their experiences with and, in return, give others advice and support.”