Thinking of You: Founder’s Package

Why we call this the Founder’s Package

Most people think our story began in 2007, when Spoonful of Comfort got its name. But really, our story goes back to Marti Wymer’s childhood and the kind of memories you probably identify with, too. Tomato soup and grilled cheese lunches on the weekend. Slow-cooking kettles of chili in the winter. And steaming bowls of soothing chicken noodle soup delivered to your room when you weren’t feeling your best.

That is how Marti identifies home and comfort. And it’s what she wanted to share most when her mother called with a diagnosis of lung cancer. With two young children in school and living a near-continent away, Marti felt helpless. If only she were there to offer the same attention and care her mom had always given her. Just six weeks later, her mother passed away.

With a determination to bring comfort to others (and to herself in the process), Marti began making chicken noodle soup. And the concept for Spoonful of Comfort was born.

Today, Spoonful of Comfort serves to bring Marti’s vision to life: that we will make and deliver comfort with as much care as Marti would for her mother.

 

About gifts for cancer patients

Our story is part of a larger story told by cancer patients, chemo patients, cancer survivors, their families and their support groups. Sending care to those battling cancer strikes the center of our purpose.

Gifts for cancer patients come at many moments. They’re expressions of sympathy at the news of a diagnosis. Get well wishes during chemo treatments. They can be a measure of support to family members whose time is better spent caregiving than cooking. And they can celebrate a cancer survivor and every cancer-free anniversary.

Whatever the reason, whenever the moment, a cancer care package is always about putting care first. From the thoughtful packaging to the sincerity of your personal note, Spoonful of Comfort will support you along the way.

 

The benefits of soup during cancer treatment

Soup seems to be a universal language for physical care. It’s what we got to soothe childhood tummy aches. It a go-to meal when flu symptoms kick in. And there’s some science to the reasons soup helps people feel better—including when battling cancer.

For starters, soup is the kind of meal that’s easy on the body. Inherently easy to digest, soup (especially broth-based soup) requires the body to expend less energy during digestion. Certain qualities of soup help address under-the-weather symptoms, too.

Salt in soup can help relieve swollen throats and mouth sores, sort of like grandma’s cure of gargling with salt water. Because cancer surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and other treatments kill cancer cells along with some healthy cells, side effects like a dry mouth, a sore throat, and gum pain are common for many cancer patients. Savory soups provide necessary hydration while easing certain side effects. Warm soup can feel soothing, and the steam may help patients feel they’re breathing better.

Perhaps most importantly, soup provides essential nutritional benefits a cancer patient won’t get from sipping coffee or tea. Soup can be loaded with vegetables, carbohydrates, and proteins—all necessary for strength and energy. Cancer and cancer treatments can affect the way someone tolerates certain foods, but soups tend to be easier to consume even for people who have trouble swallowing. Soups can provide necessary calories and come in endless recipe variations.

Nutrition is an important part of cancer treatment. Eating the right kinds of foods before, during, and after treatment can help cancer patients feel better and stay strong. Our gifts for chemo patients can help. The American Cancer Society recommends soup as a food that helps patients cope with side effects of cancer treatments that might affect how well a cancer person can eat. Eating well while being treated for cancer can help patients¹:

• Feel better
• Have more strength and energy
• Maintain weight and the body’s store of nutrients
• Lower risk of infection
• Heal and recover faster

 

Soup: The ultimate cancer care package

Soup has always been the hero of Spoonful of Comfort care packages for being associated with warmth and care. Its nutritional value and soothing effects go a long way for someone dealing with cancer, too.

Our Thinking of You Founder’s Package starts with the soup: Classic Chicken Noodle Soup, inspired by Marti’s mom, is the recipe that started it all. Other cancer patient favorites include Harvest Vegetable Soup and Tomato Basil Soup. Hearty soups like Creamy Corn and Potato Chowder, Clam Chowder, Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, and Poblano Chicken Chowder provide a solid, high-nutrition meal.

A Spoonful of Comfort soup care package includes enough soup for 4-6 generous servings. Plus, it can be used as needed. Just heat a serving and refrigerate or re-freeze for later. Each package comes with easy-on-the stomach bacci rolls, plus a half dozen cookies for good days (or for visitors).

 

Gift ideas for cancer patients

If you like, you can add to a chemo care package with thoughtful extras. A plush robe and cozy socks make hospital stays a little more bearable. People swear by this blanket for its ultra-soft feel and just-right weight year-round. You can send a message on some socks and help patients pass the time during chemo with uplifting books or coloring.

The most important piece of every cancer care package, however, is the well wishes sent by you. We truly aim to create the kind of package you would deliver yourself—including a personal note on a real notecard (no computer-generated labels here).

 

Final chemo treatment gifts

Yes, a cancer care package provides practical and personal support during treatment. Our care packages make great final chemo treatment gifts, too! Celebrate that last clinic visit with a toast (of soup, of course) to making it through the long haul of treatments. A thoughtful meal is something other cancer gifts and breast cancer gifts can’t match.

 

Cancer survivor gifts

And when a day comes that your favorite cancer survivor gets the “all clear” report, send a clear message with a cancer survivor gift or breast cancer survivor kit. A meal at home, with friends or with family can be that comforting step back into life as it was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

¹ American Cancer Society, Nutrition for the Person with Cancer During Treatment, p5.