Five things to remember when cooking for others

All over the world, generation after generation, one universal truth has held true … food is comfort. Whether you find solace in cooking, eating or both, chances are you have either given or received the gift of food.

We recently sat down with Gail and Madeleine, our famous soup ladies, to get their take on how family, friends and neighbors can help be part of the support system without adding more stress to the mix.

• Bring the right proportions. If you’re cooking for a couple, and one of them is a patient and the other is a caregiver consider that the patient is probably not eating that much and the caregiver is probably too stressed out to eat much. Bringing the right amount will help make sure the food is not wasted, which means you can bring food more often!
• Include ingredients. Unless you know the person you are cooking for intimately you may overlook a food allergy. Listing the ingredients on a piece of paper will ensure the recipient doesn’t eat food that could make them sicker.
• Include heating instructions. While most people can guess how long to heat something in the microwave or oven, when you’re stressed out you’re not thinking clearly. A quick note will help to make their lives easier and the result makes sure your meal is enjoyed the way you wanted it to be.
• Stay away from high-calorie desserts and creamy things. While it may be your favorite thing to bake the person you are cooking for will more than likely appreciate a hearty meal over a super sweet dessert. Creamy, dairy products often coat your throat and may or may not be a welcome feeling for your recipient.
• Fresh fruit and popsicles are almost always a hit.

Soup ladies warm hearts of cancer patients

Madeleine (left) and Gail (right) volunteer their time and resources to help brighten the day of patients receiving chemotherapyEvery other Wednesday, without fail, Gail and Madeleine pack up their soup and travel to Providence Regional Cancer System in Lacey, WA. There is no monetary gain and no formal accolades, simply the feeling that they are doing something special for patients receiving chemotherapy.

When asked why they go to all the trouble of cooking soup from scratch, individually packaging (to meet the health department’s guidelines) and driving the soup to the center their answer is simple: “Sometimes this is the only place cancer patients will eat.”

Gail and Madeleine are two wives who have lost their husbands to cancer. Gail’s husband, Jack, fought a hard battle with brain cancer, passing away 5.5 months after diagnosis. Madeleine’s husband, also Jack, lost his battle with Stage 4 kidney cancer 6.5 years after diagnosis. During this time Madeleine also fought and won her personal battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. So perhaps no one is more qualified to know what cancer patients need.

“My Jack was a terrible eater, even in his health,” says Gail, “he never sat down and ate a full meal, just picked at his food. When he got sick, getting him to eat became an even bigger struggle. I started to notice that he was always hungry after receiving his chemotherapy and I was so grateful for the food the center had available for patients.”

What the women didn’t like though, was the selection. Most of the food was what they called “snack foods” and not wholesome or hearty. “We pay a lot of attention to the way our soup looks and smells on top of making sure that the soup is made with quality products,” says Madeleine, “We even take requests, vegetarian and minestrone are some of the favorites.” Patients have been known to request chemotherapy on Wednesday, just to be around for the soup.

“These women are unsung heroes,” says Georgia Akin, RN, OCN in the chemo-infusion clinic. “They love and care for all our patients. They do not stick around and wait for signs of appreciation. They know what and how the patients are feeling and doing, because they too, have been there, done that.” During this month of Thanksgiving we would just like to say, “Thank You” to our soup ladies, we are grateful for you.

Free comfort cap pattern

Hair loss during chemotherapy is not guaranteed but does affect a large percentage of patients. During this time of holiday giving several Thurston County 4-H clubs took it upon themselves to make more than 40 adult sized hats for patients at the Providence Regional Cancer System, Lacey Clinic.

Using the Husqvarna/Viking sewing pattern for comfort caps and fabric donated anonymously by local community members the youth sewed caps and wrote personal notes to go along with each donation.

The response couldn’t be better. Patients enjoy the softness and the fact that they are reversible but the notes inside each hat is what makes them truly special. “It always brings a smile when the patient reads it,” says Rosemary King, patient service representative at PRCS, Lacey, “Everyone remarks what a wonderful, thoughtful thing for these kids to do.”

Barbara Wollstein, 4-H program assistant remarks, “The kids had a great time sewing the caps knowing they were going to such a deserving place.” 4-H is a youth development program that uses projects such as sewing, animals, arts, etc. as a means of teaching youth life skills to become caring and contributing citizens. You can check out the State 4-H website for general information about 4-H or the Thurston County 4-H website.

Our first blog post

We're doing it! Providence Regional Cancer System is entering the world of social media and we couldn't be more excited!

As the premier cancer system in Southwest Washington we are continually striving to provide the best patient care possible. For a lot of our patients (and their support people) we think that means creating a place where you can interact with us from the comfort of your home.  

We hope you'll share openly with us (we promise to do the same) and use this space as a place of healing, recovery and growth.

Please do take a look at our social media policy and understand that we cannot give personal medical advice over the internet. What we can do is provide you with information from our subject matter experts. We'll do our best to answer your questions but again, there is no substitute for talking with your nurse or doctor.

Thanks for visiting and happy blogging!