CANCER COMFORT HUB
Comfort • Hope • Healing
I created this Cancer Comfort Hub to put the things that helped me through cancer-treatment, hospital stays and recovery all in one easy place. Here you’ll find my personal experiences, comfort products I used, videos, nutrition ideas and my free Cancer Comfort Guide.
GIVING BACK WITH PURPOSE : Each Year on my birthday, October 20, I will donate 10% of my affiliate earnings from the Cancer Comfort Hub to a cancer-related organization !!!!
FIND WHAT YOU NEED
HOSPITAL & TREATMENT COMFORT
During Cancer treatment and my hospital stay, I learned that little comforts can make a big difference. These are some of the things I personally used that helped make difficult days a little easier.
PORTABLE CHARGER
WHY IT HELPED ME
During my hospital stay, my phone was my connection to my family and the outside world. Having a portable charger nearby meant I didn’t always have to reach for an outlet or deal with a cord stretched across the hospital bed. It was one of those simple things that made hospital life easier.
KELLE’S TIP: Charge it completely before treatment or surgery and keep it in the same bag as your phone charging cord
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MY CANCER JOURNAL
WHY IT HELPED ME
My journal became a place to keep track of more than appointments. I wrote down my doctors’ names, addresses and how each person helped me through treatment and recovery. I wanted to remember where to send Christmas cards and thank-you notes to the people who cared for me.
I also used it for the personal side of cancer. Each day I could write down something I was thankful for, an accomplishment I had made, a worry I was carrying, or even notes about a nightmare. Some days were good and some were hard. Writing it down gave me a place to put all of it.
KELLE’S TIP: Don’t make your journal only about appointments and medicine. Write down the people who helped you, something you’re thankful for, your worries, your accomplishments—even the difficult nights. Someday you may be very glad you kept those memories.
MY MORNING SMOOTHIE & NUTRITION
Eating enough has not always been easy for me, especially after everything my body has been through. My morning smoothie became an easy way for me to get several things into my body at one time. I use coconut milk, my greens and the powders I personally use, blend everything together, and start my morning knowing I got something in me.
MY SINGLE SERVE BLENDER
WHY I USE IT
I use a single-serve blender every morning because it makes my routine simple. I can put my coconut milk, greens and powders all in one container, blend it and drink it without making a big mess. On days when I don’t eat as well as I should, this is one simple routine that helps me get something in me first thing in the morning.
KELLE’S TIP: I keep my blender where I can see it. The easier I make my morning routine, the more likely I am to actually do it.
NEXT – WHAT GOES IN MY SMOOTHIE
WHAT I PUT IN MY SMOOTHIE
This is what I personally put in my morning smoothie. I keep it simple so it’s something I can actually make every morning.
- BANANA
- PAPAYA
- SPINACH
- BROCCOLI
- BLUEBERRIES
- PROTEIN POWEDER
- CREATINE POWDER
- COLLAGEN POWDER
- COCONUT MILK
WHY I MAKE THIS EVERY MORNING
Eating enough has been a challenge for me since cancer and my recovery. I know I don’t always eat as well as I should during the day, so my morning smoothie has become part of my routine. I put fruit, vegetables, protein powder, creatine, collagen and coconut milk together in one easy drink. For me, it’s a simple way to start my morning and get several things I use into my day.
KELLE”S TIP: I get everything out at once and make it first thing in the morning. Keeping it simple helps me stay consistent, even on days when I don’t feel like eating much.
HAND & FOOT COLD THERAPY
WHY IT HELPED ME
Every chemo visit was different for me. Some days I had more pain and side effects than others. I dealt with stinging and discomfort in my hands and feet, and the cold therapy helped calm some of that down. It didn’t make everything go away, but it helped keep my hands and feet more tolerable during treatment and helped ease some of the uncomfortable feelings I was having.
KELLE’S TIP: Every treatment can feel different. I learned to pay attention to how my hands and feet felt and use the cold therapy when I needed that extra comfort. Ask your cancer care team if cold therapy is appropriate for your particular treatment.
MOIST HEATING PAD
WHY IT HELPED ME
The pain during my hospital stay was severe, especially in my back where I had tubes. The heating pad gave me some comfort when I was hurting.
But I used it even more once I came home. My feeding tube was painful, my body was sore, and recovery was hard. For months, I carried this heating pad with me everywhere I went in the house. If I moved from the bed to the couch, the heating pad came with me. It became one of the comfort items I used the most during my recovery.
KELLE’S TIP: If heat feels good to you, keep your heating pad somewhere easy to reach. Mine followed me around the house for months. Just be careful around surgical areas, feeding tubes and sensitive skin, and ask your medical team when it is safe to use heat.
40 OZ WATER TUMBLER
WHY IT HELPED ME
This wasn’t just a cup to me. My granddaughters gave it to me, and that made it special. They knew I love yellow—and I definitely love a little sparkle!
During recovery, it was also incredibly practical. It kept my drinks cold for hours. I could take my pills, set my tumbler beside me and fall asleep, and my drink would still be cold when I woke up. When pain hit unexpectedly and I needed to lie down or sleep, having a large cold drink already beside me was one less thing I had to worry about.
Sometimes the smallest comforts really do matter.
KELLE’S TIP: Keep a large drink beside the place where you rest the most. During my recovery, having something cold within reach—especially when I needed to take my medicine or suddenly didn’t feel well—made life a little easier.
NOISE CANCELING HEADPHONES
WHY THEY HELPED ME
I used my Bose noise-canceling headphones a ton while I was in the hospital. I wore them when visitors were sleeping, when I wanted some privacy, and when I just wanted to listen to something and have a little time to myself.
After surgery, I even wore them during some of my walks. Hospitals are big, busy places with people, machines and electronics everywhere. Having good-quality headphones helped me create my own little space in the middle of all of it.
I liked the Bose headphones because the sound was great, they were comfortable for me to wear, easy to adjust, and they have lasted a long time.
KELLE’S TIP: Hospital days can feel very long. Bring comfortable headphones so you can listen to music, a podcast, a show or something peaceful when you need a little privacy. Just stay aware of your surroundings when you’re walking and make sure you can hear your medical team when needed.
SKIN AND SELF-CARE
Cancer treatment and recovery changed my skin so much. Dryness, dehydration and simply not feeling like myself became part of some very difficult days. These are products I personally used that helped me feel more comfortable and, just as importantly, helped me feel a little more like myself again.
BIOME+ SKIN CARE
WHY IT HELPED ME
During treatment and recovery, there were days when I was sick, in pain, dehydrated and extremely weak. I didn’t always feel like myself.
Using this on my face and neck became one of those little things that made me feel alive again. My skin felt smoother and more comfortable, but it was also about how it made me feel. Having a clean, moisturized face helped me feel refreshed and a little more like myself. On some very difficult days, that small bit of self-care gave me a boost of confidence.
Cancer can take over so much of your day. For me, taking a few minutes to care for my skin was one way I could still do something for me.
KELLE’S TIPS: Don’t underestimate the little things that make you feel like yourself. Even on a hard day, washing my face and putting on a cream I loved could make me feel cleaner, fresher and a little more confident.
ECZEMA SOOTHING SKIN CARE
WHY IT HELPED ME
My skin was already dry, but during chemo and radiation it became extremely dry. After surgery, it got even worse. My skin actually felt like leather.
I tried a ton of different lotions looking for something that would help. This was the one that worked best for me. It helped put moisture back into my skin and made it feel much more comfortable. When my skin was at its driest, this became one of the products I kept reaching for.
KELLE’S TIP: Cancer treatment can make your skin much more sensitive than it used to be. I tried a lot of products before finding what felt good on my skin. Start gently, and always ask your cancer care team before putting a new product on areas affected by radiation, surgery, wounds or medical devices.
HOME RECOVERY
Recovery at home came with its own challenges. These are some of the things I personally used to help me keep track of my recovery, make everyday life a little easier, and adjust to life after treatment and surgery.
DIGITAL WEIGHT SCALE
WHY IT HELPED ME
Nausea and having no appetite made eating very difficult for me. My weight became something I had to watch closely, so I kept a journal of it for my doctors.
Before every doctor appointment, I already knew whether my weight might be an issue. It became especially important when I was trying to get my feeding tube removed. I had to reach and maintain the weight my medical team wanted before they would take it out.
Having a scale at home made it easy for me to keep track instead of waiting until my next appointment to find out where I stood.
KELLE’S TIP: Keep a simple record of your weight and take it to your appointments. It helped me see changes between visits and gave my doctors information they could use. If you’re losing weight or struggling to eat during treatment or recovery, let your cancer care team know.
HAIR & SCALP
My hair has been one of the most emotional parts of my cancer journey. For years, my hair was long—down around my bra line—and it was a big part of how I saw myself. Having it cut around my ears and then watching it struggle to grow back was very difficult for me.
Since cancer, my body has been through so much. I have continued to have regular procedures, scans and follow-up care, and my hair seemed to grow in sections—or sometimes barely grow at all. Living with well water also made me wonder what might be affecting it. I tried so many different things looking for something that worked for me.
The products in this section came after a lot of trial and error. I finally found a routine that has helped me maintain some growth and care for the hair and scalp I have now. I’m sharing what I personally use, not promising that it will work the same way for everyone.
This subject is very personal to me, and I will also be making a video to share more of my hair journey, the products I tried, what I kept using and what I learned along the way.
ROUTINE SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER
WHY IT HELPED ME
After everything my hair had been through, I became very careful about what I used on it. I tried so many different products because my hair wasn’t growing or thickening the way I hoped it would.
Routine shampoo and conditioner became part of the combination of products I kept using after all that trial and error. I liked how my hair and scalp felt when I used them, and they became part of the routine I use to care for the hair I have and support my goal of maintaining healthy-looking growth.
I don’t believe there was one miracle product that changed my hair. For me, it has been about finding a combination of products that worked well for my hair and being consistent with them.
KELLE’S TIP: Give a new hair routine time before deciding whether you like it. I tried so many products that I learned not to expect an overnight change. I paid attention to how my hair and scalp felt, stayed consistent with the products that worked best for me, and took pictures along the way so I could actually see the changes.
IT’S A 10 MIRACLE HAIR MASK
WHY IT HELPED ME
My hair needed extra moisture, especially around the times I had surgery or another procedure or scan. I found that adding this hair mask to my routine helped my hair feel more moisturized and manageable.
I started using it before and after procedures when my hair seemed to need extra care. Now I use it about twice a week to help maintain moisture. It was an extra step I added after a lot of trial and error, and it has made a noticeable difference in how my hair feels.
KELLE’S TIP: Take pictures of your hair along the way. When changes happen slowly, they can be hard to notice from one day to the next. Looking back at my pictures helped me see changes I might not have noticed otherwise.
SHARK SPEEDSTYLE PRO FLEX HAIR DRYER
WHY IT HELPED ME
I wish I had known about this hair dryer when my hair first started falling out. My hair became so fragile, and I was constantly worried about doing anything that might make it feel more damaged.
I didn’t find this dryer until later in my hair journey, but once I did, it became one of my favorite hair-care purchases. I still use it now. When my hair feels fragile, I want to be as gentle with it as I can, and this dryer has become an important part of that routine.
I have to thank my hairdresser, Dena, for helping me discover it. After everything I tried and all the money I spent looking for things that worked for my hair, this is one purchase I personally feel was worth every penny.
KELLE’S TIP: If your hair has become fragile, ask your hairdresser to help you rethink your entire routine—not just your shampoo. Dena helped me realize that the tools I was using on my hair mattered too. I wish I had learned that much earlier.