Gift ideas for someone going through breast cancer

Someone has been diagnosed with breast cancer. It might be your mum, your friend, your sister, your cousin, someone who lives a few doors down from you or even your brother, boyfriend or husband (men get breast cancer too), and you want to give them a special gift but you don’t know what to give.

It can be really difficult to know what to buy someone going through breast cancer and to think of thoughtful gift ideas. Sara, drawing inspiration from the thoughtful gifts she received alongside input from our fantastic Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook followers, has compiled this list to offer you both gift ideas for someone with breast cancer and guidance around how to give a gift to someone going through breast cancer.

Gift ideas for someone with breast cancer

Practical gift ideas a breast cancer patient can make use of:

1. Water spray
2. Hand held battery operated fan
3. Tissues (small handy packs because chemotherapy makes your nose drip)
4. Hand sanitiser and wet wipes
5. If she is having surgery then she may need a bag for her drain (see Drain Dollies)
6. Lip balm
7. Plastic ice lolly molds (for her to make fruit juice ice lollies – they were a life saver for me says Sara)
8. Notepad and pen
9. An ipad cushion
10. A tray with a bean bag base for her to use on the sofa or in bed
11. Soft hats
12. Anti sickness wrist bands
13. A roll on lavender essential oil which she can use for headaches and general relaxation
14. A glass or metallic water bottle
15. Alcohol free mouthwash (perhaps even aloe vera)
16. Travel toothbrush and toothpaste
17. Essential oils, an oil burner and tealights (lavender is best)

Homemade, useful gift ideas for a breast cancer patient – in particular homemade food and drink:

1. Meals for the freezer – always so, so appreciated
2. Scones with a tub of cream and a jar of jam
3. Granola
4. Healthy snack bars
5. Homemade lemonade or other healthy drinks

Fun, cute gifts for someone going through breast cancer:

1. A bell for her to ring when she wants a cup of tea to be brought by a family member
2. Things with uplifting words on them such as a mug or a T-shirt

Luxury gift ideas to treat someone with breast cancer:

1. A nice journal or notebook in which to write her thoughts/plans, or take to appointments
2. A nice tote bag for her to use for chemo sessions
3. Soft pillow cases
4. Soft blanket
5. Luxurious slippers (I was given some that you can heat in the microwave)
6. A soft jumper
7. A microwaveable wheaty bag
8. Fluffy (or even cashmere) socks or slippers
9. Soft shawls or scarves
10. A hot water bottle and soft cover
11. Bamboo clothing or pyjamas or a onesie even (check out the All-in-one company for designing your own)
12. Eye mask. In fact, why not buy the gift of Spacemasks – you buy a box of five eye masks which warm up and release a gentle jasmine scent and are perfect for relaxing and helping with headaches etc.
13. Nice candle (natural or organic candles with a very subtle gentle scent are ideal for someone going through treatment Neom are gorgeous although a little bit pricey so it is worth doing a bit of a shop around.)
14. Nice hand cream, lipbalm, toiletries, bubble bath, deodorant, nail oil (you may wish to consider paraben free/organic/sensitive skin ranges because chemo can make the skin more sensitive than usual – there are companies which sell products specifically suitable for chemo patients such as Jennifer Young: Beauty Despite Cancer – link below)
15. Christmas sparkle (something sparkly and pretty during the Christmas period)
16. Trinkets, for example guardian angels and worry dolls
17. Framed photos of you and her
18. A stress ball
19. Vouchers for spa treatments, afternoon tea, cinema, reflexology, reiki (but be aware that body massages are sometimes not recommended during chemo, especially where the lymph nodes have been removed – although there are spas which specialise in massage for people having chemo and Future Dreams offers oncology massages with a specialist practitioner.)

Distractions and things to keep her busy:

1. Puzzle books
2. Colouring books and pens/pencils (the mindfulness ones are great)
3. Reading books (not sad ones or cancer stories! However, there are two cancer books which may actually be of help to her: Dear Cancer, Love Victoria by Victoria Derbyshire and Tea and Chemo: Fighting Cancer, Living Life by Jackie Buxton. You could always read them first and give her a precis of them to help her decide if she is up to reading them.)
4. Magazines or a magazine subscription
5. Netflix or Amazon Prime subscription, or DVD box sets (again, no need for these to be brand new)
6. Cook books – I can recommend the Royal Marsden Cancer Cookbook, the Jane Clark Nourish Cook Book and the Breast Cancer Cookbook (by professor Mohammed Keshtgar), says Sara
7. Notepad and pen (there are such beautiful notepads available, and they make a great place in which to make a note of all the lovely things she can do after treatment)
8. Mini/travel board games to play with the children, or arts and crafts to do with the children.
9. Depending on the ages of the children, books to read with the children
10. Pretty notelets or cards (and pop in a pack of stamps) so she can write to people

Fun gift ideas to cheer up someone going through breast cancer:

1. A tree to plant in the garden
2. Flowers are such a lovely thought but check with her partner or carer first because sometimes patients with low immunity shouldn’t be in contact with flowers
3. Write lots of uplifting quotes, affirmations and mantras on small pieces of colourful paper, then fold them up and put them in a jar or box so she can take one out whenever she is having a bad day and needs a little bit of help.
4. Get friends and family members to write little uplifting notes which you then seal in individual envelopes and (depending on what is written on the note) write instructions on the envelopes as to when she can open them. For example:
   1. open when… you need to smile
   2. open when…you need a good laugh
   3. open when… you are stressed
   4. open when…you are bored
   5. open when…you need a hug
5. Give her the gift of your time and write her a card, asking her to choose five places for you to visit together when she is better.
6. Give her some “feeling better” vouchers: vouchers for things to do together when she feels up to it and she can present these vouchers to you when she is feeling up to doing these things (for example: lunch out, a picnic, sharing a bottle of wine one evening, Sunday roast at your house for all the family, going for a walk, shopping, a trip to the cinema and so on).

WAYS TO GIVE GIFTS

Yes, you can buy or make a gift and deliver it when you hear that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. That would be lovely and gorgeous and very well received. OR, you could do something a little bit different. After all, getting through breast cancer is long old slog and would be extra nice to have things spread across the duration of treatment to help break up the drudgery, monotony and misery that treatment can bring.

Examples are:

1. A bag of wrapped presents with one to open per day. For example, one per day in the build up to say, surgery. Or one to open every day of chemo. Or one to open every three days after chemo (which are the worst days of side effects). You don’t need to spend much and you can include things like: puzzle books, tissues, lipbalm, hand sanitizer, magazines, books (no need for them to be brand new), chocolate, herbal tea bags, sweets, mints, water spray and so on (take a look at the list of gift ideas below).
2. A box of sunshine. A box full of lovely yellow things. Try finding items on the lists below in yellow such as: tissues, toiletries, sweets, stationery, pens, mug, socks, scarf, and lemons (lots of lemon things are nice during illness: lemon tea, lemon lipbalm, lemon sweets, lemon hand sanitiser and so on). Or you could wrap a bunch of items in yellow paper. The point is that this is “box of sunshine” to brighten her day.
3. A F@K You basket. A box or basket of individually wrapped gifts (choose from the suggestions below) with the idea that whenever she is having a particularly bad day, she can open one of the gifts and tell the world to “F@K YOU”. Make sure you pop in things that will make her smile when she opens them – the idea is to bring a smile to her face.
4. A human repair kit/chemo care package. A box of useful chemo things. Things that will be of practical help during chemo, and things that will make life a little easier or more bearable. Choose items from the lists above, for example:

Chemo care package:
– Tissues
– Handcream
– Lipbalm
– Boiled sweets/mints
– Magazine/puzzle/book
– Notepad and pen
– Chocolate
– Antibacterial handwash – one of the nice ones

Home care package:
– Tissues
– Handcream
– Lipbalm
– A bell (so she can ring for a cup of tea!)
– A nice shawl, scarf or blanket
– Puzzle book/magazine/book to read
– Something nice to eat, like biscuits or cakes
– Chocolate
– Teas

Pamper care package. A bag or box of luxury items which would provide a special treat for her during her treatment. Choose from items listed above, for example:
– Luxury brand handcream, shower gel, body lotion
– A nice shawl, scarf or slippers
– A candle
– And treatment affects everyone in different ways – but maybe a bottle of her favourite drink? Prosecco? Gin?

WHERE TO BUY GIFTS

You can, of course, buy gifts from wherever you choose, but there are some places that specialise in selling things for people going through cancer treatment. Some of them also do chemo care packages. Our favourites are:

• Live Better With
• Jennifer Young: Beauty Despite Cancer
• Not Another Bunch of Flowers
• Don’t Buy Her Flowers
• Cancer Care Parcel
• Littlelifts
• The C-List
• Cancerpal
• Spacemasks (not just for cancer patients – but a pretty good idea for them!)

And remember, if you are delivering something (whether food, gifts, flowers) you could text beforehand to say that you are going to deliver something and you will leave it on the doorstep at a certain time. This means that she has the option of opening the door to you if she feels up to seeing you, but if not then she doesn’t have to be disturbed.

Thank you for reading this. We know that by just reading this page, you are a friend who cares ♥

Do read Sara’s review of Not Another Bunch of Flowers

Articles:

Special gifts for loved ones with cancer, Henpicked

What can I buy my loved one with cancer? Not Another Bunch of Flowers

The information and content provided in this page is intended for information and educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice.

Reviewed August 2021