hen 45-year-old Jennifer Graff was diagnosed with breast cancer in August, one of her first thoughts was for the women she sees as an obstetrician-gynecologist. Graff knew she’d be capable of working through the prescribed 12 rounds of chemotherapy. She worried, however, about how patients would react when they saw one of chemo’s more insidious side-effects — hair loss.
Dilligan founded Cooler Heads in 2018 after spending $8,000 to save her own hair during breast cancer treatment the year before. Scalp-cooling, which some patients say feels like having an ice pack on your head, can help many patients save all or most of their hair from falling out, a common side-effect of chemo, because the cold constricts blood vessels and prevents the cancer-fighting chemicals from reaching hair follicles.
Dilligan joined a tech accelerator in San Diego, where she lives, and raised $1.4 million in a seed round in 2019, which helped her complete the prototype. By December 2021, the Cooler Heads Amma cap had beenfor commercialization by the Food and Drug Administration, allowing Dilligan to raise another $2.4 million in venture funding.
Having been a patient herself, Kate understands how much hope is packaged in that little device and she doesn’t take it lightly.Gralow says one problem with the existing systems is that they take up valuable real estate in chemo infusion centers. “You have to plug them in to have the coolant circulating, [and] you have to put the cap on anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours in advance of the treatment and then keep it on after,” she says.
Dilligan argues that scalp-cooling is a medical necessity, pointing to studies that indicate a plurality of women consider chemo-induced hair loss to be the most “traumatic” aspect of chemotherapy andSo it isn’t about vanity. Many women say it’s about their identity. Dilligan “is giving dignity and confidence to anybody who's going through chemo and cancer,” says Silvia Mah, a General Partner at Stella Impact Capital and one of Cooler Heads’ investors.
Good thing is she's able to pay