Medal/gift for completing chemo

I have a loved one going through chemotherapy, which takes 18 weeks. I'm a runner so I joked to a friend that it's like training for a marathon (which is often an 18-week schedule) - but damn if it isn't even harder!! So I was thinking maybe a "you got through it" medal would be a fun gift to give at the end. I'm wondering if anyone has ever seen anything like this. Maybe something more attractive than an actual medal, like a charm necklace or something. Google searches aren't yielding much so far and Etsy is a little overwhelming!

You could look at uncommongoods - they have some really unique necklaces and charms and you may find something that would speak to your friend. For instance, we've been going to the same beach in OBX since I was a kid, so last year I bought my mom a necklace made from sand from that beach. It's a pretty varied selection, something there might work. Good luck to your loved one

Have you spoken with a local jeweler? Beacon Jewelers might have some suggestions.

It sounds like a great gift to commemorate the occasion.

Good luck in your search.

It's nice to remember lovely times like the beach but chemo in my opinion is not something to commemorate. You really want to forget about it as soon as possible. Take your friend out to lunch.

I was going to say this also. Some consider it a badge of honor and want to view themselves as a survivor. Others want to forget it ever happened. Both my mother and cousin would have absolutely hated any kind of reminder like this so be careful. I vote for a nice lunch and/or a trip to the beach when its over. maybe an offer of a ride to chemo right now or cooking a meal or cleaning her house

Tarheels,
Some years ago I kept company with a radiation tech who worked at Sloan Kettering. One case that had them up at night was a 10/11 year old.
Everybody involved did that which they could, and when the patient was judged to be unable to handle any more; everybody wished the patient well and hoped to not see her again.
About three to four years later, the staff members involved with the patient's treatment received a note from the patient, and a box of homemade cookies.
Every cookie bore the legend "F C".
Struck me then, and does now; that the patient was some brave person.
Some people appreciate that a friend cares enough to ask. Some would rather never be reminded.
You know your friend better than anybody else here. Do that, which you think is right.
TomR

TarheelsInNj said:
I have a loved one going through chemotherapy, which takes 18 weeks. I'm a runner so I joked to a friend that it's like training for a marathon (which is often an 18-week schedule) - but damn if it isn't even harder!!

One of my loved ones recently went through chemo. His oncologist used the marathon metaphor, saying that it's kind of easy at the beginning (you might say to yourself, "this is not so bad"), but then as it goes along it gets harder and harder. In the last "mile" you think you will never be able to get through it. But then you do, and you're so happy to be done.

shoshannah said:

TarheelsInNj said:
I have a loved one going through chemotherapy, which takes 18 weeks. I'm a runner so I joked to a friend that it's like training for a marathon (which is often an 18-week schedule) - but damn if it isn't even harder!!

One of my loved ones recently went through chemo. His oncologist used the marathon metaphor, saying that it's kind of easy at the beginning (you might say to yourself, "this is not so bad"), but then as it goes along it gets harder and harder. In the last "mile" you think you will never be able to get through it. But then you do, and you're so happy to be done.

Yep exactly... it's kind of an acknowledgment of the incredible bravery to get through it.

I do see the point of it being a reminder of something someone wants to forget... but can you really forget? That's one thing that has come up in my conversations with her, she's very aware that her life is forever changed.

I guess the point is not for you or I to decide if she can forget, wants to forget, wants to yell it from the rooftops. It's what she wants and would feel comfortable with. It's not so much they can forget it completely and of course it changes your life but there are people who are proud they got through it and want that to be part of who they are and others who'd rather not think of it that way and just leave it in the past. Only you know which one she is

Yep that makes total sense. I'll give it some thought. I tend to think it's the former, but at the same time she's not quite done so who knows how she'll feel at the end.