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Woman with terminal cancer invents a care package

Shared by Ana Duarte on 2015-09-08 10:23

About the solution

"It happened very rapidly and I was suddenly undergoing lots of testing and was told I needed journals to write down everything that happened and different moisturisers and soaps for the treatments", Ms Whitehurst told Daily Mail Australia. 'I was so busy being in hospital that there was no time to get all those things.

Ms Whitehurst came up with the idea for her cancer care package, Kit for Cancer, while in hospital chatting to to her business partner about all the things a cancer patient needed.
The Kit for Cancerm or KitUp, contains everything a cancer patient needs to get them through the first few weeks of chemo, including glass keep-cup as an alternative to hospital styrofoam cups, rosehip oil for keeping the skin moisturised, a journal, goat's milk soap, face wipes, hand sanitiser, fruit tingles, ear phones, sudocrem, hydralyte and a good mouth wash.

Kits are earth friendly, all-ages, gender neutral, and full of real products. That means no samples, fluff, product placements, things that wilt or waste space. Everything in the kit was recommended by patients for patients and only stays until you tell us about something better.
The kit is also very fashionable. ‘One of our philosophies is that cancer is ugly but the treatment doesn’t have to be, everyone deserves to be treated with a bit of style,’ Ms Whitehurst said.

On the other hand, this invention can help family and friends of cancer patients. It also serves as a great ice breaker for family and friends when they give it to you, with the Ms Whitehurst saying the kit is the gift you never want to give and one you never want to get, but it is there when you need it. ‘I had a lot of friends that didn’t really know what to get me or what to say, especially since I have incurable stage four cancer, which is so rare even the doctors use me as a science experiment,’ the creator explained.
So far, the team has raised $9,000, sent out 80 kits and had a further 150 donated, with 30 per cent of every kit going towards Tour de Cure who help them direct the funds to patients currently working through cancer.

The next step is with the corporates who will be able to input the kits into their programs, so staff members with cancer or their families will automatically be sent a kit.

More info: http://kitforcancer.com

Adapted from: https://dailym.ai/2v89ZMJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPQX4xgfWjU

This solution shall not include mention to the use of drugs, chemicals or biologicals (including food); invasive devices; offensive, commercial or inherently dangerous content. This solution was not medically validated. Proceed with caution! If you have any doubts, please consult with a health professional.

DISCLAIMER: This story was written by someone who is not the author of the solution, therefore please be advised that, although it was written with the utmost respect for the innovation and the innovator, there can be some incorrect statements. If you find any errors please contact the patient Innovation team via info@patient-innovation.com

About the author

Shelli Whitehurst, from Australia, is a terminal cancer patient who invented "Kit for Cancer" to help cancer patients going through treatment. After being diagnosed with stage four bilateral breast cancer in May 2014 at the age of 39, Shelli Whitehurst found herself in hospital for treatment - and very unprepared.

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