Rapides Cancer Center begins ‘Patient Pillow’ Project

Rapides Regional Medical Center September 14, 2015

Not everything can be found in a store.

But, you can find almost anything online.

So when Nurse Navigator Tina Billberry, RN started looking for a small pillow her breast cancer patients could use to protect their surgical sites from car seat belts – and couldn’t find exactly what she was looking for in online stores, she turned to blogs.

“We had been looking for months,” Billberry said. “We wanted something that was small enough to be portable, but large enough to cover an incision site or chemo port site. On top of that, we also wanted it to fasten to the seat belt in some way.”

Sure enough, a blogger – who had a relative looking for exactly the same thing – made a “Patient Pillow” and wrote about it online.

The pillows, which begin with a 5.5 inch square of scrap fabric and 4 inch piece of Velcro, are simple to make. But, they can’t be found in local stores. And that’s where Central Louisiana comes in.

“We are asking volunteers in the community to donate a bit of their time and a few dollars worth of supplies to help us put a ‘Patient Pillow’ in the hands of each of cancer patients,” said Charla Ducote, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at Rapides Regional Medical Center.

The goal is to collect 300 pillows by December 31, 2015.

Those who are interested in making a “Patient Pillow” for Rapides Cancer Center patients can find the instructions at rapidesregional.com During office hours, you can call to have a copy of instructions mailed to your home. Or, pick up a flyer from the American Cancer Society desk at Rapides Cancer Center.

Completed pillows can be delivered to Tina Billberry at Rapides Cancer Center.

“This is a great way for our community to support local cancer patients,” Ducote said. “Not only will the patients receive something that aids their recovery process, they can also take comfort in knowing each pillow was made by someone in our community who wishes them nothing but healing and a quick recovery.”

For more information call 769-3138.