What items make you feel better?

maryv1119
maryv1119 Member Posts: 37
in Breast Cancer #1
Hi, I'm a cancer survivor who is working to help other patients/survivors.

Thinking about your treatments and side effects, physically, mentally, etc.

What type of items could someone give you to help make you more comfortable.

Example: I had dry mouth and nausea - fruit flavored hard candy helped. Reading helped me pass the time during chemo and transfusions.

Your feedback is appreciated. No idea is too small to list.

Comments

  • missrenee
    missrenee Member Posts: 2,136 Member
    #2
    Hi Mary
    I love helping others through this journey and thank you for doing the same. Here are some items I found useful during post-op, chemo and rads:

    A soft,cuddly throw for napping on the couch--there are some really inexpensive ones out there right now made of microfleece. I also had a tiny pillow covered with soft flannel for re-positioning when I was uncomfortable.

    Books and I am also a puzzle person, so I loved crosswords, sudokus, etc. Magazines of all kinds were helpful.

    A friend sent me a plush, cuddly stuffed bear that I named "Cubbie." Just holding him close while I rested somehow lessened the discomfort.

    Listening to favorite CDs helped me to relax.

    DVD movies were great. There are really reasonably priced oldies at Target or the grocery store now.

    Fruit flavored waters tasted really good and helped with hydration.

    Hope these suggestions help.

    Hugs, Renee
  • epark
    epark Member Posts: 339
    #3
    missrenee said:

    Hi Mary
    I love helping others through this journey and thank you for doing the same. Here are some items I found useful during post-op, chemo and rads:

    A soft,cuddly throw for napping on the couch--there are some really inexpensive ones out there right now made of microfleece. I also had a tiny pillow covered with soft flannel for re-positioning when I was uncomfortable.

    Books and I am also a puzzle person, so I loved crosswords, sudokus, etc. Magazines of all kinds were helpful.

    A friend sent me a plush, cuddly stuffed bear that I named "Cubbie." Just holding him close while I rested somehow lessened the discomfort.

    Listening to favorite CDs helped me to relax.

    DVD movies were great. There are really reasonably priced oldies at Target or the grocery store now.

    Fruit flavored waters tasted really good and helped with hydration.

    Hope these suggestions help.

    Hugs, Renee

    I had to have a beanie hat
    I had to have a beanie hat (when I lost my hair), fuzzy socks,a comfortable blanket and a good book to read. I personally enjoyed short stories like "Chicken Soup for the Soul"etc...

    Eva
  • Tux
    Tux Member Posts: 544
    #4
    epark said:

    I had to have a beanie hat
    I had to have a beanie hat (when I lost my hair), fuzzy socks,a comfortable blanket and a good book to read. I personally enjoyed short stories like "Chicken Soup for the Soul"etc...

    Eva

    Helpful items
    I had a fleece blanket that was comforting. Also, the smell of the cream (used after radiation treatment) got to be nauseating to me, so I carried one of those Vicks tubes
    (like lipstick) to have in my bag to put up to my nose whenever I needed to get my stomach settled down. I guess I could have used a perfume soaked handkerchef, but I didn't wamt to draw attention with a strong perfume smell. Also, chilled water seemed to help, too.
  • roseann4
    roseann4 Member Posts: 992 Member
    #5
    Tux said:

    Helpful items
    I had a fleece blanket that was comforting. Also, the smell of the cream (used after radiation treatment) got to be nauseating to me, so I carried one of those Vicks tubes
    (like lipstick) to have in my bag to put up to my nose whenever I needed to get my stomach settled down. I guess I could have used a perfume soaked handkerchef, but I didn't wamt to draw attention with a strong perfume smell. Also, chilled water seemed to help, too.

    Hope!
    What helped me most was reading about survivors. It also helped to read books about how to get and stay healthy. That helped me feel I had control of my recovery.

    Roseann
  • mom62
    mom62 Member Posts: 604 Member
    #6
    Yatzee
    I always brought my small portable yatzee game to play during chemo too. I brought my own flavored popsicles during my A/C treatments. I always brought snacks and water as well.

    Terry
  • sweetvickid
    sweetvickid Member Posts: 459 Member
    #7
    A friend gave me a beautiful
    A friend gave me a beautiful scarf and showed me different ways to wrap it that I would wear on days I felt bad and it made me feel better. Kind of like the way you feel when you have a great hair day!
  • MyTurnNow
    MyTurnNow Member Posts: 2,686 Member
    #8
    Mary, first of all, thank
    Mary, first of all, thank you for what you do. I think aside from "things" the one recommendation that helped me the most was finding this board. I am a reader and so I spend many hours surfing the internet for information. Unfortunately, there are so many types of breast cancer that it helped more to talk with my sisters here that have been there. I continue to recommend this site to those recently diagnosed, in treatment or those just trying to find their new normal.

    Thanks, again!

    Debbie
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #9
    Electric throw
    The only thing I can think of now is the electric throw that Hubby found at WalMart. I'm always cold anyway but was even colder while Taxol. He was in WalMart one night and saw this fleece electric throw. It was about $20 so not expensive. That was 2 years ago and it still is so nice to have on cold nights (western SD is quite cold) while watching TV.

    Susan
  • RozHopkins
    RozHopkins Member Posts: 578 Member
    #10
    Some things
    Some of the things I did during and after treatment -

    Visits from friends short or long whatever suit you until you get stronger you can get lonely when first out of hospital.

    Having at least one person available day or night to chat to. Doesn't have to be about yourself just to talk the way women do about anything.

    I didn't have this but really could have done with someone to iron my husbands work shirts. I had no help in the home and could deal with most things but I just stared at those shirts and hated them, when I did tackle them for a few weeks I was exhausted. Yes I still iron.........

    Totally agree with others, during chemo fruit chewy/hard candy and if summer (or not) ice pops. When no hunger, force some yogurts or milk shakes down, soothing especially with mouth ulcers.

    A few pretty hats/scarves whatever you like, that really suit you and make you feel more feminine. There are some nice ones on line. Dont be afraid to send them back if they dont suit you, some times it takes a while to get it right.

    Yes, read, watched TV, laptop. Not to feel guilty it was all I could do at one stage.

    I snuggled into my little dogs who new I needed some loving.

    Button up the front nightwear, soft as possible, highly reccomend cotton, comfy, which I wore for a while in the house during the day.

    A wonderful thing to have, a hand held shower so I could partially bathe, (when you aren't allowed a full shower after mastectomies) and wash my hair, when I had some..........................

    I was sent many flowers and enjoyed them all, they were all over the house.

    Personally, after everything settled down and Tamoxifen and similar meds for others are introduced into our lives, we had a ceiling fan put up above the foot of our bed. IT IS A LIFE SAVER AND ONE SHOULD BE GIVEN FREE OF CHARGE TO EVERY ANTI CANCER DRUG TAKER THAT BRINGS ON THE HOT FLASHES. Make sure it is a quiet one.

    World Market stores sell very cheap and pretty Chinese style old fashioned hand fans. Slip one in your purse. They give instant relief from hot flashes when out and about. Would be a nice gift from someone.

    Sorry could go on and on. Hope these ideas help.
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    #11
    sweetvickid said:

    A friend gave me a beautiful
    A friend gave me a beautiful scarf and showed me different ways to wrap it that I would wear on days I felt bad and it made me feel better. Kind of like the way you feel when you have a great hair day!

    A few of my girlfriends went
    A few of my girlfriends went together and actually made me a beautiful afghan! I was so touched by their thoughtfulness and love it! It is really big too which is great because I can wrap myself up in it.
  • laughs_a_lot
    laughs_a_lot Member Posts: 1,368 Member
    #12
    things
    Having internet durring chemo. Having internet at home after surgery for research on cancer issues. Having my kitty.
  • LoveBabyJesus
    LoveBabyJesus Member Posts: 1,679 Member
    #13
    Pets
    I find my pets helped with my recovery a lot. I know hospitals are now trying to incorporate a new service for cancer patients, where part of the treatment would be to have a pet's visit at home. My hospital recently incorporated that, Sloan. They have 5 dogs.
  • sylvan
    sylvan Member Posts: 66
    #14
    things that helped me
    Books of puzzles. Little ones so that I could tuck them in my purse and take them with me so I'd have something to do as I sat in waiting rooms and exam rooms.

    Paul Neuman's Ginger Mints. They're vegetarian and really help with nausea.

    Little pillow so that the seat belt in the car didn't get too tight.

Discussion Boards