Massage therapy can help a chemotherapy patient relax.
Few things are as heartbreaking as hearing that a family member, friend or colleague must undergo chemotherapy. Of course, the greatest way you can help a cancer victim is to offer your love and support. However, to assure that your loving offers of support remain with the person concerned throughout all the trials of chemotherapy, giving a tangible gift that may even help minimize the effects of such a procedure is one idea worth considering.
Helpful Gifts
Chemotherapy saps the strength of cancer victims. Aromatherapy products such as aromatherapy blankets or socks, and especially certain oils, help comfort sufferers and allow them to rest more easily.
Chemotherapy patients also suffer from dry, parched skin. Skin-care products that ease this situation can provide much comfort, such as hydrating creams, any number of body lotions and lip balm and lip treatments.
Chemo Comfort is a volunteer group that offers Chemo Comfort Kits, providing various practical tools to help patients manage their side effects. These include nausea-reducing teas and a special toothpaste, toothbrush and mouthwash for mouth sores. The kit also contains lozenges and ginger to help mouth dryness, a sleep cap to keep the head warm after hair loss and a CD with guided imagery meditations.
Helpful Activities
If you want to help a chemotherapy patient personally with a friendly service of some kind, try knitting or crocheting sessions during which you can express your affectionate support. Not only does the person profit from your presence and friendship, knitting or crocheting is thought to have a healing power of its own.
Quite possibly knitting can give a cancer patient the experience of learning a new skill and moving forward and creating, rather than dwelling on the possibility of death. As with all repetitive actions, the motions of knitting or crocheting can relieve emotional stress, thereby strengthening the body to withstand treatment.
Helpful Services
If you lack the time to help the patient, or are too far away, giving gift certificates for specific types of services by others can greatly help.
Housecleaning, meal delivery, and other tasks of daily living may become challenging for the chemo patient, so gift certificates for these services are appreciated. Or, you could organize friends of the patient to provide these services on a rotating basis.
Gift certificates for massage therapy and spa treatments are also appreciated. Many spas have begun offering free or discounted treatments for cancer patients, including facials, manicures and massages to help combat victims' depression, anxiety and fear. Some spas are even offering morning group meditation, acupuncture, Reiki or reflexology. Alerting the patient to such opportunities is a gift in itself.
With a little thought, you can find just the right way to help the patient on the path to recovery.
Tags: knitting crocheting, Chemo Comfort, chemotherapy patient, gift certificates, help chemotherapy, help chemotherapy patient