Fyi Minty, female friend of mine kept her hair in with third degree breast cancer by immersing it for 45 minutes in a bowl full of ice - she said it was the most painful thing of the whole process but it worked, she salvaged her hair though, at the time, lost its sheen.
Might want to research this one through and see if it could be a possibility for your Dad...........
Enjoy the pub quiz - ours is on as well - though I don't go as I get seriously pulled in 3 directions as to being with different teams.......come to think of it, splattered and rendered across the mid-Cornwall environment even before I get out of the county.