Gifts are a simple way to tell someone that, ‘I care.’ When a friend or loved one has cancer, you may not be sure of the gift type to get them. Please note that even an intentional gift can backfire.
Such could be the case especially when you don’t understand how it is like to be a cancer patient. For example, it’s not ideal to give a gift that focuses on how cancer has negatively impacted a person’s body.
It helps to offer emotional support and give a gift that cheers up the patient’s spirit. It’s not always easy in either situation. People may often fear saying the wrong thing to a person with cancer.
But, if you’re honest in showing your concern, then you can offer great support through gifting. Family and friends can help manage and acknowledge the patients’ fears and concerns by offering a shoulder to lean on.
Sometimes, it’s not just about what you say, but, what you do. Listening is one way to express your concern. And, gifting is another excellent way to show the patient that you’re available to care for them.
Remember that cancer patients may feel lesser than those who are healthy. Mostly, they tend to feel stressed and overwhelmed. It’s normal for them to experience anxiety, anger, or even depression.
Cancer treatments can also affect their physical and mental wellbeing. Such feelings and issues can make it hard for these individuals to get through normal daily activities. But, you can always uplift their mental and physical strength.
Do you have someone close who’s battling cancer? Are you searching for a meaningful way to motivate and inspire the person? If you want to give a gift that shows them you care, you can check out the following best gift ideas.
Jewelries and Keepsakes
Many physical and online stores sell jewelry to raise awareness for almost all types of cancer. It’s no surprise that the owners of Ferdinand Jewelers have created a non-profit organization known as, ‘Operation Bling.’ It provides free jewelry gifts to cancer patients.
It helps to look at the keepsake ideas to express your thoughtfulness to a cancer patient. Purchasing inspirational jewelry for a cancer patient carries sentimental messages. These messages play a huge role in restoring the patient’ s hope to live an even better and quality life than before.
So, you can customize jewelry and have charms that contain a particular message of courage, hope, joy, or love. You may also wish to add a personal inscription. Remember that a cancer patient needs a lot of inspiration to keep them strong and positive on the rocky journey.
So, such jewelry offers meaningful and motivational gifts for the friend or relative. They bring a sense of hope, comfort, strength, love, and support to the cancer patient. As a result, it makes the journey of recovery and treatment a little bit easier.
It helps to choose the best jewelry that suits the person’s style, and complements their personality. If you’re looking for a specific or customized engagement ring for your partner who is or was a cancer patient, solitaire engagement rings are classic. They are one of the most popular engagement ring settings. They attract those looking for elegance and enduring style.
Classic solitaire is considered the most traditional of all engagement ring styles. You can spot it out by a brilliant center stone diamond. The diamond solitaire ring is a simple choice, with a wide variety of hidden accents. The many design choices enables unique customization of many pieces of jewelry.
Personalized Coupons that Offer Help
Your gift doesn’t have to be material. Some people might prefer an act done for them, rather than buying something. Your friend or relative may be staying alone, and may not have enough strength to handle house chores.
This is especially due to the fact that chemotherapy treatment tends to lower muscle strength. Thus, they might need help with some tasks, but may not think of asking for it. For instance, they might want:
- General home cleaning
- Home gardening
- Cooking the required meals
Coupons or personalized gift certificates are adorable. They can come in handy for the sick patient since they may get exactly what they need. Just ensure you make gift certificates specific. Also, with such gifts, always avoid something too vague like ‘one hour of house help.’ Such is more likely to appear like wastage of the gift certificate.
For example, you can decide to design and print a coupon, which the sick friend can redeem for things like:
- Going for a week’s grocery shopping
- Taking the children out for a day
- A day or week of house cleaning
- A night of home cooking
An Effective Skin Moisturizer
Chemotherapy treatment may cause several reactions to patients’ skin. Among possible side effects include changes to the skin color, texture, or the overall skin health. That’s why patients need a soothing skin care routine during and after chemo.
So, as a friend to the cancer patient, you can decide to step in and help the patient manage the skin-related side effects of chemotherapy. This will help minimize the discomfort.
Usually, the patients’ skin can get extremely dry during and after the treatments. That’s why a gift basket of nice unscented and gentle moisturizers can be one of the best gifts to give a person at this time.
The unscented part is significant. Chemotherapy often throws off a person’s sense of smell. So, you’ll find that even those who love fragrances can end up affected badly by strong scents. Also, since the skin is super dry and sensitive at this time, some fragrances can be irritating. So, ensure you go for the best moisturizers that are mild and gentle.
An All-Inclusive DIY Gift Baskets
An all-in-one DIY gift basket may come in handy for a patient going through cancer. Remember that this is when the person is going through draining moments. Thus, every possible support may go a long way.
So, as you put the gift basket together, try including things your friend, colleague or relative might need during and after the cancer treatment.
Some ideas include:
- Warm blankets
- Magazines and journals
- Organic lip balms
- Comfortable pairs of socks
- Favorite snacks
- Squishy stress ball
- Personalized jewelry
Some quick and easy snacks include:
- Healthy cereals (hot or cold)
- Cheese (cottage, hard cheese, cream cheese, and more)
- Oatmeal cookies
- Yoghurt
- Fruit (fresh, frozen, or dried)
- Fresh fruit juices
- Granola
- Crackers
Gift baskets may require a little more effort. But, a do-it-yourself gift is more intentional, and the patient may appreciate it more. The variety in the gift basket may be a form of distraction to occupy the patient’s mind. The likes of magazines and journals can help redirect their minds away from the daily focus of clinic appointments and coping up with treatments.
Key Takeaways
Today, many cancer patients are handled as outpatients. This means that they don’t have to remain in the hospital. So, during this time, they need constant support, and encouragement from friends and family.
You can make a huge difference in their lives.Studies show that cancer patients with strong vigor and emotional support can cope better with the changes cancer brings. They tend to have a more positive outlook and an improved quality of life.
As you spend time with your relative, friend or colleague, do not just seek to learn more about how cancer has impacted their daily lives. Instead, take time to find out other valuable items or services you can offer them to heighten their healing.
Discover how they respond to different activities, and identify what may suit their situation as they go through treatment. Narrowing your help to the things they need and enjoy most is the ideal way to gift the cancer patient.
