To help my friend with her Chemo

[GirlOnATrainToShite]

Hi - blatant post for traffic apologies in advance.

My friend starts Chemo for breast cancer on Sat.

My other friend and I want to make up a little basket of "stuff" to help her through - please can you suggest what might help?

TIA

It's lovely that you are supporting your friend.

I'm currently going through breast cancer treatment and I would appreciate lifts to and from the hospital more than anything. Not having to join the mad queues of irate drivers trying to find a parking spot at the hospital or take my chances on the bus makes the biggest difference to me.

Fab thank you - have already offered but will now insist 😬

You sound like a lovely friend
I hope everything goes well for your friend.

For my friend I got

Good hand cream and lip balm - skin gets dry
Boiled sweets - can leave a funny taste in your mouth
Bed socks/blanket - can get cold
Colouring stuff - it can be really boring
Any audiobooks - again it can get boring but too tiring to read
High calorie snacks - can lose a lot of weight but don't feel up to eating/sick so little flapjack bites etc are handy if they can only stomach a few

I was lucky enough not to have chemo, but when I was having radiotherapy, friend was coming for lunch. She said she would bring lunch. It was lovely. I was shattered, but really appreciated the company.

Most of all, I appreciated family and friends just spending time with me. Do not underestimate the recupatative affect of just having people around who can talk about things other than cancer

I finished chemo a few months ago.

Blanket, it can get cold when your sat there for ages.
Subscription to Spotify.
Oreos, ok that's my personal taste ;)
A glove loofah, really helps when your head is itchy and hair is growing back, also ensures no ingrowing hairs.
Udderly Smooth cream with 10% Urea, only thing that stops the dryness and lovely on a bald head. Read the reviews on amazon, it's loved by chemo patients.
Boiled sweets.

Dry mouth spray, its quite hard to get hold of but my local pharmacy ordered it in for me. My friend found it a godsend.

Cosy socks and a nice blanket, she felt the cold a lot.

Audio cds, good for distraction when feeling rough.

Hth these were just a few things my friend appreciated, it was a tough few months. Offer to do things with her on the good days and just sit together and watch a film on the bad ones.

I keep texting her to see how she is feeling but also texting trivial funny shite as I know she's having loads of appts ATM.

You can heated blankets from Amazon which are amazing. How about some soft hats when she starts to loose her hair? On a practical level, she is likely to be very unwell for a few days for each dose of the first drugs, so cooking /cleaning/ help with household stuff I'm sure would be appreciated. Audio books are good too.

What about making some batch cooked meals for her to freeze?

My cousins just gone through this but lives quite a distance from me. I kept sending her cards in the post. Daft random ones with silly things written in them just to make her smile. She said it always picked up her mood.

There is a wonderful site called notanyotherbunchofflowers.com it has lovely gift sets designed for chemo patients. My mother bought one for my MIL and she loved it

Practical help would be a godsend. Shopping, dinner cooked, washing up done. Even if she has a partner, it helps to take some of the load off them.

I found I wasn't able to concentrate on reading anything longer than short magazine articles, so magazines to flick through might be nice.

Chemo can make things taste funny, so ask her what she fancies, as she might go off things that she's loved until now.

And just be there for her, unlike my friend of decades, who dropped off the face of the earth.

My mom used a lot of lotion and lip balm because her skin gets dry. Also, sucking on hard candies can help keep your mouth moist and prevent mouth sores. Soft socks. Things like puzzle books or magazines for her to occupy herself while she's actually getting treatment.

Frozen casseroles would probably be welcome, especially if she has a family to feed.

A notebook/diary and pen to record which doctors she's spoken to each day and what tests and medication.
Some colouring books and pens
Some healthy snacks to nibble
Hand cream and lip balm
X

She does - I am thinking Sudoku as she loves numbers?

That would probably be perfect. Also, logic problems are really fun. Maybe a deck of cards? She could play solitaire or find a partner while she's there.

What a lovely friend you are

I haven't been through chemo myself, however my son has so I know abit about what it's like

He would have appreciated ( obv edit it to suit a adult- he's 8!)

Lollies/ sweets - for when he didn't fancy eating or felt sick

Blanket- snuggling up on the sofa

Lip balm - his lips got very dry when he wasn't eating/drinking

Books

DVDs

Cosy socks / Fleece hoody

New dressing gown, fluffy slippers, PJs

He really struggled to tolerate some smells so be careful with smellies/ scented candles

You know, those preggo pops might be good, they'd keep her mouth moist and help with nausea.

Not another bunch of flowers - somebody else has mentioned it, was set up by a friend of mine when she had her treatment - loads of good ideas!!

I appreciated batch cooked meals during my treatment hugely, sometimes no appetite but just to go to the freezer and just defrost was amaze when I was hungry.

Yes to book / puzzle things / magazines, steroids which you have along some kinds of chemo can keep you awake in the middle of the night and that's when bad negative thoughts can sneak in so mind occupying things are good.

Cotton pj best tops / bottoms for when steroids give you epic night sweats - friend gave me some from Uniqulo

Also, chemo can last 4 - 6 months so while everybody rallies around at the start - it goes on and on and do support long term!!!!

Oh, and remind her to have lots of healthy fruit and veg, keeps vitamins and immune system up and running, and will keep her healthy and avoid chemo delay due to illness!!!

Good luck to her, chemo sucks, but with every one done its closer to the last one!!!!!

My first post!
Having just helped a friend through I think things like taking away the ironing, doing it & returning it & other mundane tasks were most appreciated. Changing beds etc. Or gossiping together while you do it for her. Posh biscuits & plenty of teabags for all the visitors. Supper for DH & kids even if she didn't fancy it. And lifts - chemo is long & boring - & hospital parking can be stressful. Offer to take her & sit gossiping to pass the time. We often went for lunch afterwards while she had a few days feeling well. Girls nights in with lots of laughs too on good days & What's App conversations when not.

Saw a company called something like "Not another bunch of flowers" or something that make up gift baskets specifically for people undergoing treatment for cancer. Might get some ideas there.

OK. My apologies for skim reading a thread whilst fending off a curious toddler. I see they've already been mentioned.

Beautiful suggestions all. OP best wishes that your friend gets through this and comes out the other side well and with beautiful friends around her.

My DBF told me the two things she appreciated most (after the practical had been taken care of) were visits where we could just chat, like normal, no pressure to mention or not the cancer, and foot and leg rubs. Both combined made for a very happy lady.