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22 ways you can support a cancer patient today
Hey hey Diva friends!!
Today I’m sharing 20 ways you can support a cancer patient today! I have been SOOOOOOO surrounded by love and support and kindness the past few months and some of the things people have done have really surprised me and been totally awesome! I wanted to share in case you know of anyone that could benefit too!
Send a cancer empathy card. For the friend who enjoys laughter, sarcasm, and reality
Set up a meal train. Be sure to ask them what dates would be most helpful and what foods they don’t like or have sensitivities to. You can use a service like takethemameal.com to make it easy to share it with friends, family and church groups that might be willing to fill it up!
Pray for them
Send them a Whole Foods gift card!
Send them an encouraging note. I just received a package from my sister and brother in law’s church with 10 cards - 1 to open for 10 days - each with encouraging notes!
Gift them a hand held oil diffuser for hospital visits or at home nausea
Mix an anti-nausea oils or an oil blend to sniff at the hospital or use at home
Send a project chemo blanket from www.projectchemocrochet.com
Send some fresh flowers or succulents to brighten their home
Text them ,“How are you feeling today?”
Gift them a notebook with encouraging comments and verses like this one to write down their experiences and keep track of doctors, visits and symptoms.
Mail them a book you think they may enjoy
Recommend some great Netflix shows/movies
Let them know you’re there if they need anything
Leave an encouraging voicemail or text
Send them a Visa or grocery gift card
Ask if they would like to go on walks with you
Ask about their treatment schedule and be proactive about scheduling activities or get togethers on days they think they will feel their best so they have things to look forward to
Sit with them during their chemo infusions
Pre-pay for a massage or meal delivery (if they would like that).
Send them an encouraging bookmark
Create a gift basket of fun things appropriate to their experience, likes, and needs!
And there you have it! 22 ways you can support a cancer patient today. Every single one of these (except for Netflix - I was all over that myself haha) were kind things that people did for me! I was blown away how much people cared, and how every single thing on this list meant a great deal whether it was a free gift or a costly one, and whether it was from someone I knew or a total stranger.
Have you been through chemotherapy or know someone who has? What other ideas could you add to this list? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below!
Skipping the menopause shot
Hi friends!
Today I made a really hard decision. So hard in fact, I had a solid hour of crying back and forth while I was trying to make the choice.
What was such a big deal? Well, I was trying to decide if I wanted to get the hormone shot that puts me into menopause during chemotherapy. Ultimately, I chose not to and here’s why:
There are 2 main reasons to get the shot in the first place. 1) To potentially have a positive impact on your blood count by not having your cycle during chemotherapy and 2) to maybe offer some protection to your ovaries by shutting them down and therefore assuming they won’t suck up as much chemotherapy thereby protecting their functioning in the future.
That being said, I kept feeling this nagging “no” when I thought about getting the shot.
First, after my horrible experience with egg retrieval, I really wanted to give my body a break. The idea of getting another shot that messes with my hormones in a dramatic way did not resonate well with me.
Secondly, I still haven’t had my period since the fertility stuff. I was pumped full of so many hormones, that my uterine lining got really thick. I know my body, and I know my hormonal history. Before doing anything else manipulative to my hormones, I REALLY really want to shed that lining. The problem is, there is a window of time they really want to give the shot to you before chemo….my window is closing and I haven’t started my period yet.
Thirdly, ABVD doesn’t appear to be super damaging to your ovaries. Different chemotherapies have a lesser or stronger probability of damaging them and it doesn’t sound like ABVD is high risk in that area. Additionally, even if my ovaries ARE damaged I just harvest 21 mature eggs which is an insane amount of options should I choose to use the route later.
Fourthly, the Zoladex shot take a few weeks to sink in ( thus the reason they want that window) but chemotherapy will essentially put me into menopause anyway. After a few cycles the likelihood that I will skip my periods is high and I would rather just let my body do it’s thing and support it the best I can.
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And finally, some doctors recommend you wait 6 months after chemotherapy to have babies and some recommend up to FIVE YEARS. When I read that today I realized the likelihood of me wanting to actually get pregnant after this is low and I feel like I’ve really wasted pain and money going through this process. For those of you who are reading this thinking “oh you are so young, you have plenty of time!” technically, that is true. But my hubby is 15 years older than me and it’s a real consideration when I continue delaying the process by potentially YEARS.
I don’t know how I will feel when I’m done with all of this. Maybe I will be relieved that I have some fall back options and be happy that I went through the egg retrieval process. Maybe I will decide to finish the IVF process and have kids after all. Or maybe I will just be so thankful to be healthy again, and feel like I really want to give my body a break, enjoy my life with my family and get back to work…
All I know is this. I felt something in my gut telling me NO so strongly that I called to cancel today. I felt much better afterwards and that’s definitely something I need to hold on to throughout this process- my voice and intuition!