KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — The nonprofit Breast Connect is making sure breast cancer fighters have everything they need to feel comforted and cared for as they undergo chemotherapy and radiation.
The new kits have been coined the "Heart to Heart Care Package," not only to embody the group's spirit but also as a nod to the nonprofit's double heart logo.
The care packages have everything from chapstick to a handmade blanket inside. When creating the kits and coming up with ideas last year, the group polled breast cancer fighters and survivors in their free Facebook support group about what they believe are necessities during treatment.
From those results, the nonprofit was able to collect certain donated items to put inside, like dry mouth lozenges, baby powder, angel mints, an ice pack, lotion, socks and tissues, among other self-care items.
Another layer to the kit is hand-stitched with love. Through the help of the community, Breast Connect can also put items inside that are handmade, such as knitted hats and blankets to heart pillows sewn together with strength.
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The Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority at the University of Tennessee also put together personalized notebooks and cards to provide extra encouragement to the women receiving the kits.
"It's really special when you get handmade items made with love from the heart," said Stephanie Ewers, administrative assistant for Breast Connect.
Each kit is a little different and is catered to the specific woman receiving it. For example, if a woman is not undergoing radiation, she may not receive the radiation items, and vice versa for chemotherapy.
The goal is to take a little bit of the burden off of the breast cancer fighter who is trying to navigate treatment, so she can focus on recovering.
This is not the first kit Breast Connect has helped arrange and deliver to those diagnosed with breast cancer, though. In 2020 and 2021 Breast Connect, along with the nonprofit Courage to Conquer Cancer, worked together to create the Connect to Conquer initiative.
The groups were able to create mastectomy kits and give them to women who had recently undergone surgery. Those kits are still available for women as of Tuesday. Inside, there are "Recovery Tees" which help manage the post-op drain tubes, Axilla pillows, other comfort care items, education materials and support.
"It's something that, when they're going through a mastectomy is very scary and nobody knows what to bring, and we've sort of done the work for them by researching what can work for you when you have surgery," said Nina Reineri, the Breast Connect president.
The items inside each kit are donated, and to be able to continue offering those items and resources, Breast Connect continues to accept donations from individuals and businesses.
Breast Connect is a nonprofit for survivors, by survivors. Providing support during and after a breast cancer diagnosis is always the goal. Through BreastConnect.org, people can find the links and forms to join the group, request a care package and find a plethora of resources and information.
The Facebook group has over 2,000 members, all of whom say they are breast cancer fighters and survivors. The group is a place where people who are navigating a diagnosis can ask questions, get encouragement, share news about their journey and find information about their specific type of cancer.