<p>Any ideas for a small gift I could give my friend who is having her head shaved tomorrow, having started chemo for ovarian cancer? Ideally something sensitive that would also make her chuckle? She’s already heard the Brittany Spears jokes… Thanks!</p>
<p>Funny you should ask. I had an appointment this morning with my oncologist and picked up a brochure in the waiting room. Hope the mods don’t mind my posting this link -</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.comfortsandblessings.com%5B/url%5D”>https://www.comfortsandblessings.com</a></p>
<p>I liked what I saw and ordered a gift for a friend who is just about to begin chemo.</p>
<p>People who are taking chemo often have bizarre reactions to food. Things that they used to like taste weird, other things taste better. My husband had a tomato soup he liked; a friend found McDonald’s french fries were one of the few foods she could eat. Home cooking for people on chemo (who often can’t cook because the smells make them queasy) is a lovely thing. </p>
<p>Something small and humourous: think Pez dispenser.</p>
<p>My mom had her head shaved last week… by her friends. They made a little party of it. Her husband owns a motorcycle dealership and he brought home some biker do-rags…one with ‘skulls’ I believe. They got quite a laugh out of them…lol! </p>
<p>Check out the pink breast cancer do-rags…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.proudbiker.com/biker/bikerag1.htm[/url]”>http://www.proudbiker.com/biker/bikerag1.htm</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.proudbiker.com/biker/bikeragchemo.htm[/url]”>http://www.proudbiker.com/biker/bikeragchemo.htm</a></p>
<p>Truthfully, they are much more comfy than the wigs and really great for around the house or when your friend wants to have a ‘skip the wig’ day. I’m sure there are many places to buy them…this site was just the first one I turned up on a google search.</p>
<p>I sent you a PM.</p>
<p>amom</p>
<p>a funny book, like Billy Christels 700 sundays
honestly</p>
<p>Oooh…get her V for Vendetta! Great movie, plus it’s got a bald Natalie Portman (whom I hate, because she’s ridiculously good looking bald ;))</p>
<p>good idea, that was an awsome movie</p>
<p>I went with my friend to her treatments and sometimes made dinner for her family the night after treatments.</p>
<p>When one of WashMom’s best friends had to shave her head for tumor surgery (she’s still with us…), WashMom shaved her head, too, and then showed up unexpectedly the evening before the surgery. Since her friend hadn’t had her head shaved yet, WashMom was bald and her friend had long brown hair. The pictures are priceless. After the surgery, WashMom sent her friend a Chia Head (<a href=“http://www.buying-chia-pets.com/chia-heads.html)%5B/url%5D”>http://www.buying-chia-pets.com/chia-heads.html)</a>. You have to be really close friends to get away with this, I think…</p>
<p>Good idea about making dinners.
If your friend’s hair is long, could I suggest that she donate it to Locks for Love (locksforlove.org)? The hair could be used to make wigs for kids who’ve undergone chemo.</p>
<p>Washdad:~Washmom sounds like such a good friend</p>
<p>In addition to the above, try to prepare yourself for seeing her for the first time without hair. She’ll probably be nervous and self-conscious at first. It’s difficult to see someone you see regularly with hair suddenly bald. If you have any typical nervous or surprised reactions that you feel would be inappropriate or would make her uncomfortable (i.e. laughing, jaw dropping, being speechless), try to think about that and get it under control beforehand. When my mother had her head shaved for chemo, there was always a sort of moment of “unveiling” the first time she showed her bald head to a friend or family member. She wore a wig full-time outside of the house that looked a lot like her hair looked like, so people hadn’t even seen her wearing a cap or bandana beforehand. Most people don’t think much about how they will react, which can create a few awkward moments. You may want to give a little bit of thought beforehand about what to say.</p>
<p>Has she begun losing her hair yet? My mother was scheduled to have months of treatments of a type of chemo that almost always results in hair loss. She had her head shaved before beginning treatments, but she didn’t actually start to lose her hair until maybe three or more treatments into it. This was one thing that upset her because she was afriad that she was one of the few who wouldn’t lose her hair, and yet she shaved it anyway. She did lose her hair just like the oncologist said, but she had some tense weeks before it happened. If your friend hasn’t begun to lose her hair already, you may want to be prepared for something like that, which isn’t something people normally consider.</p>
<p>I do a food tree for a friend with cancer. Thirty one women, very easy-- you just cover the same date each month. That way she gets a visitor each day too. </p>
<p>Washdad, Washmom sounds like a keeper!! Friends like that make life worth living.</p>
<p>If she turns out to have a lovely skull, like Natalie Portman, perhaps a gift certificate for a henna tattoo session on her scalp? I’ve long thought that should hair loss happen to me, I’d give that a try.</p>
<p>How 'bout a pair of sequined slippers - something really gaudy - to give people something else to look at. Help her take the focus off her hair.</p>
<p>I suggested locks of love to my friend - or started to. She cut me off, abruptly. Said if anything, she’ll use her hair for her own wig. I think she was tired of people telling her that.</p>
<p>I gave my dad a small “guardian angel” figurine when he got sick. When I was cleaning out his room at the care facility, after he died, I found it hanging from his closet doorknob. It apparently had travelled from place to place with him. He wasn’t a sentimental type, but I think he just liked knowing I’d been thinking of him half-way around the world.</p>
<p>my friend who went through chemo really liked a brightly colored fleece blanket to take with her. </p>
<p>i also understand that the fragrance of lavendar can be soothing to chemo patients.</p>
<p>the best thing you can do is to be there for her. ovarian cancer is one tough cancer to have. my thoughts are with both of you…</p>
<p>My sister wore turbans a lot. It sounds old fashioned, but they looked great, and are a lot easier to keep up than wigs. She did like wigs too, for going out, and enjoyed having a really outrageous one just for fun.</p>
<p>When WashMom shaved her head in appreciation of her friend, she noticed that a lot of women noticed her “lovely head shape.” She says her skull gets more compliments than her hair.</p>
<p>Of course, the person having chemo is a lot more concerned with their baldness than the rest of us are. If the person is a good friend, I ask about it and let them talk. If not, I usually just ignore it. I figure they get tired of talking about it.</p>
<p>Along the lines of a previous post: I have a friend who underwent chemo years ago for colon cancer. She bought a wig (which she really liked) in anticipation of losing her hair. She never did lose it, though, and was secretly a little sorry she was unable to wear her wig…</p>
<p>My sister is an artist and when someone close contracted cancer and was about to lose his hair, she made a booklet for him, showing how he would look in a series of famous historical hats - Davy Crocket’s coonskin cap, Lincoln’s stovepipe, etc. Bet someone could easily do the same now with a photo and the computer.</p>