Patient creates emotive cards for loved ones who struggle with cancer

For her the most difficult part of her illness wasn’t losing her hair, or being erroneously called ‘sir’ by Starbucks baristas, or sickness from chemo, it was the loneliness and isolation she felt when many of her close friends and family members disappeared because they didn’t know what to say, or said the absolute wrong thing without realizing it.

The designer has been cancer-free ever since. But the emotional impact of the experience lingered, inspiring her to design a newly launched series of Empathy Cards—emotionally direct greeting cards that say the things she wanted to hear when she was ill.

She hopes that the Empathy Cards provide “better, more authentic ways to communicate about sickness and suffering” between patients and friends and loved ones suffering from cancer, chronic illness, mental illness, or other hardships. They are by turns earnest and world-weary, and good-humored without false cheer.

Adapted from: http://slate.me/1P0BE52

More info: http://info.emilymcdowell.com/