An In Care of Dad Series.

by Andrea Zavell

My mother faced chemotherapy with hope, courage and grace.  Her friends were wonderful.  In addition to accompanying her to treatments, they showered her with bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolates, and scented lotions and creams.  While very much appreciated, most of the offerings were quickly re-gifted.  Chemotherapy had rendered my mother very sensitive to smells, tastes and textures.

When my friend, Kathy, recently started chemotherapy, I pulled from the knowledge of my mother’s experiences to put together a gift bag for her.  Most of these items can be picked up in one trip to a local drug store or Target.  I hope other people will find some of the following suggestions useful.

• a colorful bag to take to chemo (or a small duffel for the guy on your list);
• a soft, fleecy throw blanket to keep warm during chemo or in front of the TV (fleece is a good choice for texture and because it is easily washed);
• unscented moisture lock gloves — chemo can dry out your skin;
• unscented hydrating therapy socks — make sure they are soft and not too tight around the ankles;
• unscented moisturizers — full-size for home use and travel-size for the car, purse or bag;
• unscented soap (e.g., Dove moisture bars);
• tissues;
• unflavored lip balm;
• assorted candies — this may or may not be a hit, but at the very least can be shared with visiting friends or family;
• an iPod loaded with favorite music;
• light-reading materials like magazines or a book of short stories;
• crossword puzzles, games.

Naturally, you know your family member or friend the best, so be sure to think about how each item will be received.  Some gifts are perfect for one person but all wrong for another.  For example, I knew Kathy was worried about losing her hair; I chose not to include a scarf or hat in her bag.  The whole idea here is to make someone smile, so if there’s a doubt, leave it out!

Kathy’s gift bag had the desired result — it made her smile.  When I gave it to her, she was very gracious, and three days later, she called to tell me how much it had really meant to her.  She related how, even though she no longer eats candy herself, the candy in the gift bag had reminded her of the hard candies her dad used to keep in his pocket.  That memory had to take her back 40 years.

It’s funny.  When you’ve lived through the loss of a loved one, there are so many lessons learned along the way.  This gift bag was so easy to put together for Kathy but I realize I couldn’t have done it for my mother — I was too much in the “moment.”  But I write this article in her memory and because I know it would make her smile.  It’s really so easy to make a difference in someone’s life.  I wish more people would do it.

Tags: care package for chemotherapy, emotional support for cancer, gifts for cancer patient, how to support someone in chemotherapy, how to support someone with cancer

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 28th, 2011 at 5:25 am and is filed under Cancer, Emotional Support, Gifts and Gadgets, Things That Make Life A Little Easier. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.