Friend starts chemo next week, would could I get her? .

[MonkeyTennis34]

Looking for some gift ideas for her. Any ideas?
She’s going in as a day patient.

Etsy have lots of ideas- I loved the water bottle my daughter gave me. Light reading/ puzzle books/ headphones/ audio books/ nice mags for treatment.

Will she be having the cold cap as well?

@Sundrops
I don’t know about that, she certainly hasn’t mentioned it. She’s been told she may experience hair loss.

A gift card for Cook ready meals
Silk pillowcase
Aveeno soothing bath soak

I had chemo last year. I got some lovely hand creams as gifts and I really appreciated them.

Previous suggestions around good, as long as you choose a skincare product for sensitive skin/ unscented.

Will she be having someone to with her? If you are able to accompany her to any sessions, she might like that? I went with my Mum and chatted nonsense/played board games.

I bought my friend subscriptions to Readly and Audible along side some treats every now and then like nice chocolates, M and S afternoon tea delivery. She said she loved the random surprises either popping up in her in box or via her letterbox.

I've given people Scamp & Dude super scarves. They're super soft, great as a light scarf or wrap when feeling unwell and nice bright colours. Plus for every.one bought they donate another one to a woman starting cancer treatment
scampanddude.com/pages/superscarvesmission

White company cashmere socks

My mum really felt the cold when she had it so a lovely soft blanket or a fluffy hot water bottle maybe?

Definitely light reading - my friend sent me a load of Take A Break magazines which were perfect as I couldn't focus on books at the time. The steroids they give you make you feel really edgy and grumpy, I really appreciated regular silly messages and jokes from my friends.

She'll be immunocompromised too which will make things difficult, little gifts through the post like PPs have mentioned will cheer her up.

I think everyone reacts differently to chemo,my skin has become so reactive and my sense of smell and taste has changed, so gentle fragrance free skin products were my preference.
I also had a little routine where I would go to the shops the day before and buy a couple of snacks that I fancied as a treat for after my treatment that I would look forward to.
Also if she hasn't already done so she can apply for a Little Lifts box for free, get her to go online and request one.
Please ask her about cold capping, it's not always spoken about but if her hospital offers it she should look into the benefits of it-i have to say I found it incredibly hard and unpleasant but I have kept all my hair so I'm hugely passionate about it!! It protects your hair follicles if your hair does come out. It's really worth looking at Titlesswonder on Instagram and her charity Prelovedrel0ved on Instagram for more information.
Sending your friend lots of love and healing

My friend found the waiting around and boredom more difficult than anything when she first started chemo. She appreciated Amazon gift cards so she could buy books, films and tv shows to keep her entertained. Unfortunately all the skin stuff she bought and was given ended up having to be donated because her skin reacted badly. The other thing that was useful was a small beanbag thing that’s used to hold tablets/phones on your lap, but that was mainly due to having to have a lumpectomy and lymph node removal so she had restricted movement for a while.

DM really appreciated a supply of loose cotton nightshirts and PJs for the recovery days. She suffered a lot of sweats, and needed to change several times a day sometimes.

Silk pillow case was a huge hit for dh, also a fleece blanket themed of his favourite show.

Audible subscription is a good shout, one friend gave a sky sports login which cheered him up too.

I bought my friend a bracelet that in its beading had the symbols f* cancer in morse code . She loved it and wore it to all chemo sessions.

How about some fluffy, big socks?

I started a thread asking a very similar question on the cancer board recently, of you look for it there were some great practical ideas on there

Seasalt handyband, my friend found going outside difficult as the colder air robbed him of his breath, he found covering his mouth and nose helped.
Nuxe lip balm.
some nice boiled sweets.

This site has some lovely ideas

https://www.notanotherbunchofflowers.com/product-category/gifts-by-recipient/for-any-gender/cancer-care-packages-for-any-gender/

Specific link

I received a lot of flowers when I was having chemo. It really helped cheer me up and know people were thinking of me. Practically, what helped me the most was people helping out with day to day to things I was too exhausted or ill to do. Such as taking my daughter to school and activities, cooking meals, hanging up washing. Made such a difference ❤️

This often comes up; conversely I was absolutely boiling the whole time!

My friend needed strong lip balms and hand creams as she suffered a lot with dry skin .

silk hair ties helped her sensitive scalp as well as silk pillowcases .

lightweight wrap and then a warmer cashmere wrap were useful for during treatments.
she has a small donut cushion thing with a springy clamp to hold her phone / iPad so she can read or watch tv without getting RSI or carpal tunnel .

Fluffy blanket and warm socks. You get cold having chemo.