Three of my dear friends have been diagnosed with breast cancer just in the past five years. Jessie and Christine luckily didn’t have to do chemo (they were able to kick cancer’s ass with surgery and radiation), so this is uncharted territory for us all.

Alicia was recently diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer after a routine mammogram, and she starts chemotherapy soon. She sent me flowers when I was in the hospital after the stroke, and it totally brightened my day, so I sent her flowers from all the girls we went to Joshua Tree with. She said she felt so loved when she received them 🥰

I want to make her as comfortable as she can be during this difficult time, so I got her a few things:

• UpNature Peppermint Essential Oil Roll On – Nausea is one of the most well-known chemotherapy side effects, and hopefully this peppermint roll on can quell some of it.
• Anti-Nausea Acupressure Wrist Bands – My sister gets seriously sea sick whenever she rides a boat (Caborette Booze Cruise 2015, anyone?), and no amount of ginger pills, essential oils, wrist bands or prayers could keep her from getting sick, but hopefully these work on Alicia 😅
• Simply Mints – Mints are supposed to help with nausea, too. They had ginger mints also, but when Alicia and I worked at AAA (we started the same day and first met on the elevator!), this lady, Betsy, would always offer Alicia ginger candy, and she hated it! We knew we’d be best friends when we realized we hated a lot of the same things 😆
• Cold Therapy Socks & Hand Ice Pack Cold Gloves – Chemo can cause neuropathy in your appendages, and this is supposed to help with that.
• Hydro Flask – it’s important to stay hydrated, and it’s much easier to do when your drinks stay ice cold for hours.
• Lotus and Luna Master Healer Chakra Healing Layered Bracelet – because I’m a believer of this woo-woo bullshit 🤪 plus it’s pretty!
• Pill Organizer – I take medication 4x a day, and sometimes I forget (despite the 4 alarms that go off on my phone every day). It’s just easier to remember when you have a pill organizer.
• Big Blanket Co. Premier Plush Hoodie – A common chemo side effect is feeling cold (and she is already one of those people who’s always cold!). I already got her a sherpa wearable throw and fleece-lined socks last Christmas, but she could use more cozy warmth.
• Cactus Blossom Candle – I’m the ultimate consumer. Half the things I own, I saw an ad for on instagram, and this candle is no exception.