Any special treats for radiation breast cancer I could send?

Question

I have friend getting radiation for breast cancer soon. Is there anything you could think of that I can send that she would really appreciate instead of flowers. All you survivors please give me ideas please. J

Answer 1

No, flowers or anything that has a smell to it is not really a good idea as the smells can make them overly nauseous on top of the nausea from the chemo. If they have finished chemo and no longer feel the nausea, then a DIY home spa treatment basket with beauty products such as face masks, moisturisers, bath oils, salts, bubble bath etc, maybe a pedicure set, things like that would be great, so as they can pamper themselves. Better still, if you live close by, also add some personalised gift certificates that gives the bearer (in this case, your friend) to a day of pampering and you can go around and use the basket of goodies to pamper her with a facial and a pedicure etc etc etc

If she is still feeling nauseous, then a nice stationery set with a pen and some stamped envelopes is a nice touch for some. A new silk dressing gown or pyjamas, whichever one you think is quirky enough. These two things will be useful if she is to be admitted to hospital to receive her treatment.
If she goes home after each session, then maybe personalise some vouchers for you to go and clean her house and cook for her. Or you could always hire a cleaner for her if she feels too sick to do it herself.
Hope these ideas help, you can e-mail me anytime to chat further if you like, but I am in Australia so there might be a time difference.
Have a great day/night!

Answer 2

Get a copy of your original pathology reports. Your surgeon should have done receptors testing. This determines if your original cancer was a result of being estrogen/progesterone positive or negative, or her2neu positive or negative. Her2neu is a protein in the body, and that is generally a more agressive cancer. You could also have been triple negative, like I was. That meant that your tumor was basically a nasty chunk of bad luck, and not caused by the horomones in your body at all. So, judging from your original treatment, it sounds like you were treated as a triple negative, or even a very early stage of cancer. I wonder if it was an early stage cancer, because triple negatives generally have an amazing response to chemo, which is fantastic, since we don't have any after-treatment. Now, some other thoughts.....first, you mention that the second cancer was more aggressive. Do you say that as far as the stage, the grade, or the size of the tumor? Second, Femara is a er+ after-care treatment. Your second cancer was estrogen positive. Third, I am also wondering the possibility of not having had clear margins from the first lumpectomy. If there were not clear margins, that meant that some of the tumor remained in the tissue. Generally if that is the case, a re-excision is done to obtain clear margins. This can be determined from the path report from your surgery. So, as far as whether or not procedure was followed can't be determined (IMHO) unless we know more about the original cancer. If you have concerns about the quality of care you received, you do have the right to switch doctors. This is your health, don't be shy about being proactive.

Answer 3

Wow, that's really thoughtful of you!
I'm not a breast cancer survivor, but my mom is, and when she had her radiation treatments another lady who was a survivor gave her a wee little teddy bear to remind my ma that she wasn't alone. She took it with her to all her radiation sessions, and even though my mom is definitely not the sentimental type, that little bear sits on her dresser now, 7 years later.
It's very tiny, maybe two or three inches tall, btw.
Perhaps something like that which your friend could carry with her as she goes to radiation would be helpful.

Answer 4

No flowers at all!!!!!

If she is in hosp oncology ward wont accept them. If she is at home, smells and bacterias or chemicals on them could make her sick.

Answer 5

A really nice moisturizing lotion would be nice.