Nice budget gift for young person going through chemo?

fifthdimensiondweller

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Hi all,

I'm really hoping you guys can give me some good suggestions. I can't believe it, but I have not one, but two young friends (25 year old female and 19 year old male) going through some pretty serious battles with cancer. I'd like to send them each something, but honestly I'm not sure what would be a good gift.

I don't have a ton to spend, because I just had a baby, but I was thinking I could probably swing about $50 for each of them.

Any ideas?
 
Magazine subscriptions are great idea for something to keep busy during idle times.

What a nice idea, the guy is into dirtbikes and racing in general. Maybe I could find a magazine for that to subscribe him to!

I was going to say books, something to read

This might work for the female. I'm pretty sure she likes to read! The journal might be an even better idea though. She's got a long road to recovery and keeping a journal would probably be really helpful. Thank you!
 


Something entertainment related? So if they like video games, a gift card they could use for a new game, if they like movies or music, an amazon card, or a gift card for some kind of streaming subscription that they wouldn't necessarily spring for themselves. Sometimes distraction can be good to get a break from dealing with the tough stuff.
 


This is a very lovely idea and they will appreciate the thoughtfulness of anything that you give to them. Something to keep in mind is that not everyone reacts to their cancer treatment the same. I have met some who were able to breeze right through with just some exhaustion and mild nausea. My treatment included radiation and chemotherapy that hit me very hard. The nausea was so bad that I couldn't watch anything with a lot of action and I couldn't even read without getting sick. Going into treatment I thought that I would be able to color my way through it, but I couldn't even do that. I could listen to music/movies, look at pictures, read short paragraphs, watch funny cat videos, very slowly put together puzzles, eat, talk, and plan for a better day. Most people will be somewhere in the middle of the two I have described here.

With that caveat, your time is the thing that they would probably value most. Another budget idea is help cleaning the house, or doing some laundry, or making a few meals, bringing them their favorite dessert, and even just spending time with them. If they are able to move around and not suffering from things like tinnitus or motion sickness, then they might appreciate an outing to do something they like, whether that be a movie, a museum visit, dinner, a cup of coffee, whatever. If you want to go this route you should probably either talk to their primary caregiver or even directly to your friend to arrange the details.

As far as actually purchasing items, some others have given you some great ideas already. You could go for something like one of those 501 places to travel type books to help them plan what they are going to do once they are better and give them something to look forward to. Or even a book about one of their favorite topics, but in case they are having problems reading I would go more towards a coffee table type book that has lots of pictures in addition to text. The Netflix gift subscription MomToOne mentioned is a wonderful idea as well. Due to some of my side effects, I found puzzles very useful even though I wasn't really a puzzle type of person beforehand. Some art supplies, like acrylics, brushes and paper, or even coloring books and pencils, as a creative outlet.

Like I said in the beginning, just seeing you and knowing that you are thinking of them will be quite a gift in itself. Hope this information helps you a bit.
 
My aunt was an avid reader but during chemo she struggled with the concentration needed to focus on text so I did an audible subscription so she could listen to books. It was something she was able to enjoy but wouldn’t have purchased for herself. For a close friend battling cancer in her 30’s, I gave her a keychain I ordered off etsy with a quote from Winnie the Pooh (the one about being braver than you know).

Sending warm thoughts to you and your friends.
 
I wouldn’t do magazines for this age who have grown up with smartphones and tablets. How about an amazon gift cards, the gift of anything?

I disagree. My teenaged nieces and nephews still love magazines like Sports Illustrated and Seventeen. Electronic books are great but physical magazines are hard to beat!
 
A very nice, soft, relaxing poncho or scarf made from alpaca wool. Or super fuzzy bedroom slippers. Seriously. It is very soothing to just pet the fibers LOL

and big pieces of fabric are great, since one often gets temperature fluctuations like crazy whoa while on chemo treatments... something like this maybe:

https://winterbournealpaca.ca/products/coral-reef
Size: 11” x 78” (28cm x 198cm)
 
A portable battery charger for their electronic devices would prbobably serve them well. Chemo days can be long, and some places will not let patients plug their charger into the wall.

A nice pair of comfortable headphones, or a headphone/eyemask combo (I've seen them on Amazon for under $30).

Something funny to brighten their spirits.

Adult coloring books/pencils. Amazon has a huge selection. Coloring is very therapeutic.
 
I disagree. My teenaged nieces and nephews still love magazines like Sports Illustrated and Seventeen. Electronic books are great but physical magazines are hard to beat!
I guess it depends, my 5 teens, teen nieces and nephews, and my teens’ friends just aren’t into magazines. My kids did have subscriptions (including Sports Illustrated) and really didn’t get into them.
 
I guess it depends, my 5 teens, teen nieces and nephews, and my teens’ friends just aren’t into magazines. My kids did have subscriptions (including Sports Illustrated) and really didn’t get into them.

Funny, I collected my magazines as a teen. My kids are 25, 23, 16, and 14 and not one reads magazines. Thinking about it right now, it’s probably the result of being an online generation of kids and young adults. They don’t even browse them in the bookstore or doctors office.
 
So, just being honest here. I had to go through all this last year and I’m a pretty active person that lost my hair and kept on trucking. I got a lot of the things mentioned above, but I say that to say, I got multiples. So you may be repeating something they got many of and may not need another one of.
Here are some of my favorites that I couldn’t have gotten too many of...

A nice tumbler, Ozark trail tumbler or Trevis for my cold drinks to sit beside me at chemo.
Good researched lotions for radiation treatments, like aloe Vera, coconut oil, aquaphor, etc.
Nicer chapsticks that I wouldn’t have paid $ for initially.
If they lost hair, a nice head wrap- my favorites were buffs or just amazing feeling hats that had neat color schemes.
Colorful socks that had cool words on them...something making you feel like you could fight anything
An iTunes giftcard for music- or google play to watch movies or download favorite playlists.
A restaurant gift card somewhere close to them that they could pick up lunches. Going though chemo I wanted to eat healthy and foods my taste buds would tolerate. Strangly, one of my favorite places became Subway!
Flavored Seltzer waters!
A fruit basket! Sounds cheesy but my taste buds were so wacky with chemo.
If they are active, maybe a workout outfit, or yoga pants
Cricut cutouts in pink with my initials, the Hope Ribbon, etc that I could put on my water bottles, etc.
 
When my friend went through chemo we got her a warm blanket, lotion, chapstick, gummy bears and nausea lollipops. I’m a firm believer in buying useful and frugal gifts.
 

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