I receive treatment at the Vancouver Cancer Centre. The chemo class and tour of the chemo unit was super helpful. I would highly recommend attending one of these if offered. They also had a free 1 day nutritional seminar that I really liked.
Patients can receive 2 free head covering made by volunteers and I happened to see a nice toque just when I was looking for one and a light cotton scarf in bright orange that I wore in hospital (orange is such a cheerful color). The head coverings were on display when the info ctr was open and you could take what you needed (2 per patient were suggested), which I thought was nice. I left a donation for each though - it ws worth it to not have to go out and look for what I needed
I attended the Look Good Feel Good program, which I also highly recommend. Getting a wholenew set of makeup was really helpful since it can be a good idea to stop using old makeup that can have.
I had my wig styled by a lady who does it free for cancer patients and was recommended by the place where I bought the wig. It was comforting knowing that she has had a lot of experience with styling wigs and she told me that tehw ig made me look younger and "sassy" which helped boost my confidence.
I have also been to a lot of programs offered by
Inspire Health, which offers free services to cancer patients and survivors and their support people in BC. I attended a 2 day LIFE seminar, which went over things like the benefits of exercise, nutrition, mindfulness and a mini group therapy session. I saw a kinesiologist for advice on exercise to recover from surgery and on dealing with joint pain. I have attended nutritional classes and cooking demos as well as yoga and exercise classes. In February I am seeing a doctor there for advice on my "survive and thrive" plan and ongoing side effects.
I also just joined a walking group for women with breast cancer that is led by a volunteer from UBC.
Making this list has been a really good exercise in gratitude.