We asked cancer patients to rank items on a scale of 1-5, with “5” being “YES – I wanted and needed this item” and 1 being “NO – I did NOT want or need this item”. The top performing items were:

Creams/lotions
Lip Balm
Wedge Pillows
Fleece Blankets
Tea / Coffee
Aromatherapy

The bottom performing items were:

Cancer awareness enamel pin
Positive message magnets
Kicking Cancer Tote Bag
Worry Stone
Kicking Cancer Mug
Inspirational Poetry

Taken together, it was clear to us that cancer patients clearly want and need items that are functional and useful to their healing and actively rejected items that we considered “inspirational.” These were items commonly found in many traditional cancer care packages.

Furthermore, some items that could be considered functional ended up in the “below average” – what we called “meh.” They are Journals, Candles, Sleep Masks, and Bath Salts. Let’s break these down and think about why:

Journals: While there is some interesting research showing that journaling can be productive and helpful to some cancer patients, it can also be a burden – kind of like a homework assignment. If patients are exhausted, having memory issues, and just want to be home and chill out – being faced with a journal and pen may feel like an obligation more than an opportunity. This one is tricky – and most likely comes down to the individual patient.
Candles: SCENT is so often a nausea and/or headache trigger for patients undergoing chemo and/or radiation. Depending on the candle scent, this one could go wrong, fast. Also, if they live in an apartment building, they could be verboten. We say – tread lightly, and know your audience.
Sleep Masks: If a patient has trouble sleeping, we’d bet their doctors have them covered with Ambien or the like…. Not sure sleep masks (or ear plugs) are really going to make much of a dent here.
Bath Salts: Surgeons do not allow their patients to take a bath or go swimming until their stitches are healed and come out. And while it depends on the patient, many suffer from dry and painful skin from chemo, and tender and painful skin from radiation. A bath would be actively PAINFUL during either treatment. There are so few opportunities to take a bath during cancer treatment – bath salts seem actively UN-thoughtful to us.