For Charlotte, a DigniCap patient in the U.K. featured in the video above, the fact that she managed to keep her hair throughout treatment was not only important to her as an individual, but also for her as a mother. "I've got young children at home, and whilst they were aware that Mommy wasn't very well and was having some treatments, we didn't have to go through the 'Mommy's lost all her hair' as well," she says.

"I've met a number of women who have used DigniCap, and what they say is that they don't have much control over anything during this process — they feel very disempowered by this disease — and here's one thing that they actually get to wrestle control back over," echoes Hornthal. "These women can look in the mirror and say, 'Here I am; it's me.' It's not some altered me that's been affected by this disease.”

The device will cost between $1,500 and $3,000 (that's $300 to $600 a treatment, and breast cancer patients typically average four to six treatments, according to Hornthal) for use through cancer treatment centers, and the company plans to list the certified locations on its website once it's available in the early new year. Hornthal also acknowledges that cost is a concern — one that Dignitana hopes to address: "[We want to] find a way for this to be accessible to women who may not have the means to afford it," says Hornthal.