Gifts & Gestures

Even as a cancer survivor, I still get stuck thinking of supportive responses for a beloved person going through cancer. The truth is, there is no one-size-fits all response. Don’t wait to think of the perfect idea – just acknowledge that you care, ideally before too much time passes but still go ahead even if substantial time has passed (it’s not like they’re going to forget they had cancer, right?). Sending a card with kind wishes is always safe. Some people like to send flowers, and others send gifts or find ways to help. Here are some ideas for gifts and gestures that are sure to be a pick-me-up.

Gifts

Gifts don’t have to be about cancer. What does your beloved like? What are they interested in? Gifts specific to the person will reaffirm to your beloved that cancer has not taken over their whole life. One of my favorite random gifts was a gift certificate to Monuts, a gourmet donut shop. I don’t even eat donuts but I was touched when my friend gave it to me so quickly after hearing about my diagnosis, and I just had to laugh because she was a weight loss researcher giving me a present of sweets!

If you do want to give a gift related to the cancer experience, here are GIFT ideas.

Gestures

We humans are naturally hard-wired to expend a lot of attention on things that can go wrong. In contrast, when we experience pleasant emotions – say through receiving flowers with a sweet note – we take it in but then typically those pleasant emotions quickly fade. However, people with flourishing mental health find ways to extend pleasant emotions. Extending pleasant emotions will be challenging for your beloved going through cancer because there is so much about cancer that feels threatening. However, you can help them do this. GESTURE ideas.