6 days ago
Glimmer of Hope provides just that to cancer patients
After waiting fifty years to find her forever partner, Tess Herzo got engaged to her husband in 2022.
"The wedding celebration, all of it, is really important to be perfect," said Herzo.
With five months until they tied the knot, doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer.
"Then there's this punch in the gut that you get," she said.
Herzo went through chemotherapy at Saint Clair's Cancer Center, with UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.
"It was really, really hard," she said. "You don't feel great at all."
All through her treatment, she kept a wedding goal in mind.
"One of the most important things was to make sure I had hair on my head," Herzo said.
That's where this new scalp cooling therapy comes into play.
"Unfortunately, hair loss is something that's associated with the number of chemotherapies that we use, and so cooling caps have helped to try to minimize hair loss for patients going through chemotherapy," said St. Clair Hospital Cancer Center's Dr. Bob Vanderweele.
Patients wear a cap on their head to cool the temperature of their scalp during hours of chemotherapy. It takes hours, but the Amma Scalp Cooling system is portable, and it made more of Herzo's hair stay in place for her dream wedding.
Preventing hair loss is not vanity; it's emotional stability in the face of uncertainty.
"Definitely made a difference that way. I can't remember being sad at all at that time. It was like we were just going to push through," said Herzo.
Now with the non-profit Glimmer of Hope and St. Clair, it's at the hospital, in the South Hills.
"That's amazing, the time that I was going through treatment," Herzo said. "I definitely wanted to see more women take advantage of it. I'm incredibly thankful to them. That they helped make this happen."
It's also free for patients whose insurance won't cover it.
"We're thrilled with this cold cap project," said Glimmer of Hope found Diana Napper.
"We really try to support the patient completely through the journey, and obviously our goal is to cure," Napper said.
The cool cap helps hide cancer treatment and provides a sense of normalcy.
"I know a lot of women with kids say that they need to stay strong and look strong for their children," said Herzo.
It's more than just hair care; during cancer treatment, it's a "Glimmer of Hope" for breast cancer patients during the darkest moments of their lives.
Through fundraising and the donations from individuals, businesses, sports celebrities, and organizations, Glimmer of Hope's donated over $7,000,000 for breast cancer projects in our region.
The non-profit's helped at least a thousand patients, funded cancer-curing research, and more.
For more information on Glimmer of Hope, click here.
