ending tx,what did you do for the nurses?

abbyglp

ending tx,what did you do for the nurses?

abbyglp

Hi, My last herceptin tx is next wed. (Halloween), I want to do something special for the nurses that have been with me through it all there is 3 of them and the the other nurses rotate from the hospital. Would it be bad of me to get something for the three of them and bring a cake. (I am a cake decorator and I have plans on making a tiered cake in the shape of a haunted house and use cupcakes to make witches and ghosts I am exited to get started on it, but I can not do it to early, it has to taste as good as it looks) anyway I was just wondering what and if any of you did anything special and have any ideas, I am so confused.One more week!!!52 weeks and 3months of this stuff is going to be over, I am soooo happy. hugs abby

TenderIsOurMight

Abby,



That sounds like a wonderfully scary idea! Oh, please post a picture after you make it, if you can.

I love to bake; I'm better at pies than cakes. My best cake every was a fresh coconut cake. I actually bake and give at least half away to keep our family cholesterol down.



I brought yummy breakfast muffins and fruit and some flowers at my last chemotherapy. The nurses are so great. I still get an IV drug every 4 months, so I often will bring them something, always simple, usually an attempt at healthy or flowers. And around my cancer anniversary I do to. And I write a note.



Just the last time as I was getting my IV, I overheard one of the nurses say, that Mr. Smith, he doesn't have a lot of money but he always brings arrives with a bag of bananas or fruit. It goes a long way to be shown you're cared about.



Congratulations on finishing! I hope you'll have a piece of cake made just for you and yours....



Hugs,

Tender

Fitztwins

I gave a card to my nurse thanking her for 'stickin' it to me for a year! I gave her cookies. Food and candies are always a great idea!

Janis

gsg

They'll love the goodies.

i made my nurses (and my doc) a card on the computer, forgiving them for turning me into a big, fat, red-faced, beefy bald "guy," and thanked them for saving my life...along with the card, my mother baked some awesome gooey brownies.  They loved it. 

abbyglp

Thanks, tender, Janis and gsg. I will post a pic if I can figure out how to do it.I might need someone to walk me through it.  I figured I could not go wrong with goodies, flowers are a good idea to. Thanks

hugs abby

rumoret

Nothing......they failed to notify me on bumping my Taxotere from the first bump to the third bump. Long story short, got sick, entered hospital for two weeks, and after getting released....oncologist and head nurse played dumb on who gave permission to increase the speed of Taxotere going into my veins. They were short for chairs and had more patients then they could handled, and I required 3 hours to receive Taxotere due to reacting to it on first day. Other than that......I loved my nurses...they were all very nice. But.....I was so shell shocked after my hospital stay.......that they were the last persons I cared about...including the oncologist. I changed from Kaiser to United Health after oncologist would not fess up.



But a good gift would be a massage........they work really hard.

looneycrew

I got some really good chocolates and passed them out to everyone in the chemo room, patients-drs-nurses.  It was a great feeling and well deserved celebration!

Congrats!

Jen

TenderIsOurMight

What a sad story, rumoret, involving the people you expect so much from at a rather desperate time in one's life.



I'm glad you switched.



Hope everything is working better in the system now.



Tender

livesstrong

abbyglp - first of all CONGRATS on finishing.  Way to go!!

Since my last chemo treatment ended the last week in Nov.'06 I bought each one of my nurses a pretty Holiday candle. They really seemed to enjoy it.  But your cake is an awesome idea. Yes, please try and post a picture I would love to see it.

Valerie

boughtonl

Abby,

Congratulations on finishing your treatments. I am a basket maker and I made my breast surgeon one. She loved it and was going to take it home and put orchids in it. I just started making baskets not too long ago and I was really surprised that she thought that it was beautiful. That made me feel good too. I didn't go through all of that for nothing. I thought that she deserved something special. When I was diagnosed with bc on Aug. 21 they had given me an appointment to see her in 2 weeks. I was really upset because I wanted to see her sooner. She actually came in on her day off so I could talk to her. Now how many doctors would do that? I had bilateral on Sept. 27 and I am still waiting for the Oncotype DX test to come back so they know what treatment to give me. Does it usually take a whole year for it to be completed?

rumoret

Tender,



Everything is better.....switched to my mother's oncologist who wanted me the first time...but insurance was Kaiser. I was so strong during my surgery and chemo treatments.....never even took one anxiety pill....but after the hospital stay....I have been on two ativan a day. More anxious now then ever before.



Love,

Terry

abbyglp

OH, Terry I am so sorry you had such a hard time. I had 12 weeks of taxol and did not think I was going to make it through that. I think it was harder on my body then the chemo.

Jen, chocolates sound good. That is why I was thinking cake, cause you can make it go so far. After going every wed. for over a year, I have met alot of patients that also go on that day, mabe I will get a box to pass around in the chemo room, and let the nurses and the doctors just have the cake for themselves. thanks

Valerie, Thank you, It has been a long year and I am looking forward to all the ned days ahead of me.

Linda, if your test comes back that you are her2neu+, you will be put on 52weekly treatments of herceptin. It has no side effects, just a pain to go every week.

Thank you for all your suggestions.

hugs abby

Nicole58144

I can tell you that working in health care, we love goodies!  What you have in mind is fabulous.   I'm sure they aren't expecting anything, so this treat will make their day.  I think a nice personalized note to each of them is always good to.  You are so sweet to be thinking of them.  I'm sure in some ways they feel like "extended family".  Congratulations!

Nicole

JoanofArdmore

I'm a potter.I made one really nice bowl that has feet, bare feet.It's a copy of the Egyption hyrogliphic for "Bring".I gave that to my onc, with a note explaining it and saying thank you for bringing me the rest of my life.

A hint for everyone:Trader Joe's has dark chocolate-covered roasted coffee beans.My nurses and my onc LOVE these!!I would bring them every time I went for chemo.

At my last infusion I made my nurses a big goody-bag.In a pretty, mylar bag I put pretty bags of goodies (including the chocolate-covered coffee beans in one, of course!)sweet and salty.Being me there were mylar balloons attached.I told them I RESTRAINED myself from not strewing confetti,(which I'm big on)I actually new better since it was an onc's chemo office, AND because I always strewed confetti at my grandkids' birthdays.So merry!But my daughter, poor thing, would be less than delighted, and I finally got the idea that she had to get that vaccum out.By after-party time the confetti had walked all over most of the house.

(So I only strew confetti in MY house now!)

Anyway, that is what I did for my last tx.It was perfect, because my NURSES gave a pizza-party for me!

Your Halloween cake sounds utterly AWESOME!!I hope we can see pix of it!Yes, your nurses will love it!!

Joan

Member_of_the_Club

I brought the chemo nurses a large vase of sunflowers. They looked so bright and cheerful in the chemo room.

abbadoodles

I wouldn't give them anything.  They are paid well to do their job.

Hey, YOU deserve a treat!

Tina

myrenewal

I too brought them a goody bag - I filled it with some of the fancy chocolate and candy covered apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and a variety of chocolates.  My onc's office is very small, there are only about four nurses and one doctor in there at a time.

I also periodically brought in fancy pastries from our bakery - heck - I was there just about every week for six months - sometimes twice a week!

sharebear

I baked oatmeal cookies and brownies for the staff. My teenage daughters friend thought it was funny that I, a cancer patient, was bringing "brownies" to my oncologists office and asked if they were "special" brownies for the cancer patients. The nurses got a big kick out of that and told everybody getting their treatments. The funny thing is that they all asked if they were!

Sharon

iodine

What a terriffic idea to share your talent and "good taste"!

May I offer an additional suggestion:

If they have been special, write a note to the hospital administrator noting that.  It will be placed in their employment records and may help when promotions or pay raises are being considered.  They will also be copied and it will make their year!  It will take very little of your time and could make a huge difference in their professional lives!

Jorf

For me it was summer so I made a really yummy fruit crumb cake - basically crumb covered in fruit.

I also made little cards for everyone from the receptionists to the manager of the department, including my nurse and my onc (even tho I still see her of course).

They also do a party for everyone on their last day - balloon, "graduate" certificate and a card from them all. 

bonny1963

When I finished my chemo I took cup cakes to the nurses.  They seemed touched.  Joan, instead of me throwing confetti on them, they threw it on me.  I am still doing Herceptin, but I will be finished in January.  I know they are paid to do their jobs, but we still get attatched to them and mine make me feel very special and I love them.  I am not sure what I am going to do, I will have to think of something.  Bonny