Caps of courage

The Island Now

This Veterans Day, Kristine Thomas a long island photographer and digital artist spent the day assisted by her partners Kathleen Pecinka and Sara Parise holding photoshoots at her home in Floral Park to raise money to purchase a “cold cap” for a cancer patient in need.

Cold Caps can minimize hair loss, which is a major treatment side effect from cancer chemotherapy. The cost of the cold cap can be prohibitive to most, costing upwards of $2,500 and not covered by insurance. Utilizing the cold cap to decrease hair loss can increase a patient’s confidence, self-esteem and self-worth while undergoing a treatment regimen that can severely impact these mental health areas.

Not everyone is able to pay the cost out of pocket, so Kris, Kathleen and Sara are doing their best to be able to help those women in need.

Sara , Kris and Kathleen founded Caps of Courage earlier this year to help purchase cold caps for breast cancer patients in need while they are undergoing chemotherapy.

Sara is an Oncology RN. Kathleen is also an RN and a breast cancer survivor. Cold caps and scalp cooling systems are tightly fitting, helmet-like hats filled with a cold gel or liquid that you wear during chemotherapy infusions.

These devices have helped many people keep some or quite a bit of their hair when treated with chemotherapy that can cause hair loss. These devices are not covered by insurance and need to be paid out of pocket, ore-treatment, which is not an option for some women.

“It is our belief that a woman fighting for her life should not have to choose between maintaining a healthy self-image and meals for her family. We hope that by raising money and awareness for Caps of Courage, we can help women in need to be able to do both.”

Sara says, “As an Oncology Nurse, I have seen firsthand how a using a cold cap can positively impact a woman’s life and overall persona during treatment. We are here to do what we can to uplift and help these women any way we can”. Please visit our Facebook page “Caps of Courage” for more information or how you can help.

Caps of Courage
Sara Parise
(516) 369-6003
sparise@northwell.edu

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