A dear friend of mine was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. I knew I wanted to put together something for her before she started chemo…so I reached out to a small group of friends to ask if they’d like to join in the effort. They did! We ended up delivering a huge basket of things to her last night in preparation for her first chemo treatment this morning. Some items were boring and practical/necessary and a lot of items were “just because”.
We did some Pinterest research to see what some good ideas were to include in the basket. So that was our starting point….and we just ran with it. We ended up with this….a big box full of stuff:
I also included this list below – which outlines a few of the items and the reason they were included. I ran out of room, so didn’t include everything.
Here is the Microsoft Word version if you’d like to download it and edit it for your own Care Package: Chemo Care Package
I did not get any pictures of what was inside…but I’ve outlined each item below:
- Fluffy blanket
- Fluffy socks
- Heating Pad
- Scarf (all to keep warm during/after her chemo treatments)
- Bottles of water (to stay hydrated)
- iTunes Gift Card
- A couple good books
- Chapstick (to keep her list from drying out, which is a side effect of chemo)
- Sudoku Puzzle Book
- Trashy Magazines
- Hard Candy (to help keep her mouth moist and to help with mouth sores)
- Bath Stuff
- Kleenex
- Cocoa Butter Lotion (this is great for dry skin, a side effect of chemo)
- A cute t-shirt
- Framed encouraging print
- Cottonelle Wipes (a side effect of chemo is diarrhea)
- Germ-X (to keep the germs away)
- Keychain, cross earrings, and other trinkets
- Love Notes (a note written by each friend who contributed)
- Snickers (her favorite candy
We hope that we were able to put a smile on our friend’s face before she faces the hardest battle of her life. I think we succeeded. 🙂
So I Don't Forget 
And your “friend” LOVED the chemo care package!! 😉
Reblogged this on Ideas in My Jar and commented:
Cancer Care Packages are always good for a smile and big appreciation.
[…] Come and see how she Juli puts it together: https://soidontforgetblog.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/chemo-care-package/ […]
WOW! What a wonderful care package! The most important item was the last one…love. How lucky your friend is to receive such a caring and thoughtful box of love!
I would love to get one of these care packages. How do I get one?
Hi Nicole. Sorry for my delay in responding. I actually don’t make these to sell. This is just something I put together for my best friend when she was going through chemo. Hopefully you can use it as inspiration to create your own chemo care package.
Thanks,
Betahny
This care package is so cute! Inspired by my experience as a breast cancer survivor I wrote an article on top 10 gifts to get people in the hospital, and it includes links on where to buy them 🙂 Hope this helps https://www.giftgowns.com/blogs/patient-resource/this-is-about-gifts
That is so sweet of you and your friends! I’m sure this package eased some of her worries. I’m trying to put together a care package for a friend’s mom. I think I’ll steal a few of your ideas! Thank you so much for sharing.
Tanuja
Thank you for your sweet words. Good luck puting your own together. I’d love to see it if you also have a blog to share it on.
I’m in chemo now and it looks like a wonderful way to encourage friends in chemo! Thanks for sharing!
When I had my first mastectomy all the lymph nodes were removed from my left armpit. I received a wonderful gift bag from the hospital volunteers but the item which I appreciated most was a sponge which I could put under my armpit. This was soft and took the pressure off and I felt so more comfortable. That was in 2002 and after another mastectomy a few years later I’m still alive and kicking in 2017 but I have never forgotten that wonderful gift at a very dark time in my life!
And, what a wonderful idea this could be for most any shut-in to let them know they are loved, prayed for and remembered.