ABOUT THE CHEMO BOX
ABOUT THE CHEMO BOX
This started with Sarah.
This started with Sarah.
DONATE A BOX
ABOUT THE CHEMO BOX
This started with Sarah.
ABOUT THE CHEMO BOX
This started with Sarah.
ABOUT THE CHEMO BOX
This started with Sarah.
A little box of comfort · A little box of comfort · A little box of comfort
My name is Janessa White, and I’m the founder of The Chemo Box. In 2023, I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. But this isn’t really my cancer story. It’s Sarah’s.
Around the same time I was diagnosed, my colleague and friend Sarah Gehman-Allen was living with liver cancer. Suddenly, the two of us found ourselves members of a club neither had asked to join. We checked in on each other throughout treatment. We swapped war stories. We talked about the strange, uncomfortable, frightening realities of cancer. We encouraged each other. We sent love when there wasn’t much else to send.
And through all of it, Sarah was extraordinary. Her faith was unshakable. Her optimism wasn’t the shiny, everything-happens-for-a-reason kind. It existed alongside something genuinely difficult. Sarah knew exactly how hard cancer could be, and somehow she continued to meet the people around her with generosity, humor, hope and love. Including me.
There are people who have an incredible capacity to give even when life is asking almost everything of them. Sarah was one of those people.
My name is Janessa White, and I’m the founder of The Chemo Box. In 2023, I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. But this isn’t really my cancer story. It’s Sarah’s.
Around the same time I was diagnosed, my colleague and friend Sarah Gehman-Allen was living with liver cancer. Suddenly, the two of us found ourselves members of a club neither had asked to join. We checked in on each other throughout treatment. We swapped war stories. We talked about the strange, uncomfortable, frightening realities of cancer. We encouraged each other. We sent love when there wasn’t much else to send.
And through all of it, Sarah was extraordinary. Her faith was unshakable. Her optimism wasn’t the shiny, everything-happens-for-a-reason kind. It existed alongside something genuinely difficult. Sarah knew exactly how hard cancer could be, and somehow she continued to meet the people around her with generosity, humor, hope and love. Including me.
There are people who have an incredible capacity to give even when life is asking almost everything of them. Sarah was one of those people.
Two cancer stories
with different endings.
Two cancer stories
with different endings.
Years later, I have the enormous privilege of saying that I’m cancer-free.
I get to live a healthy life. I get to make plans. Build things. Travel. Laugh. Worry about stupid things. Wake up on an ordinary Tuesday and occasionally forget that cancer was ever part of my life. That ordinariness is a gift I don’t take lightly.
Sarah did not get the same ending. After years of living with and fighting cancer, Sarah passed away. She is missed immeasurably by her family, her friends, and the community that loved her. And she left something behind that is much harder to describe than a résumé or a list of accomplishments. She left the experience of having been loved by Sarah.
I was one of the lucky people who got to experience that.
Two cancer stories
with different endings.
Two cancer stories
with different endings.
Years later, I have the enormous privilege of saying that I’m cancer-free.
I get to live a healthy life. I get to make plans. Build things. Travel. Laugh. Worry about stupid things. Wake up on an ordinary Tuesday and occasionally forget that cancer was ever part of my life. That ordinariness is a gift I don’t take lightly.
Sarah did not get the same ending. After years of living with and fighting cancer, Sarah passed away. She is missed immeasurably by her family, her friends, and the community that loved her. And she left something behind that is much harder to describe than a résumé or a list of accomplishments. She left the experience of having been loved by Sarah.
I was one of the lucky people who got to experience that.
Two cancer stories
with different endings.
Two cancer stories
with different endings.
Years later, I have the enormous privilege of saying that I’m cancer-free.
I get to live a healthy life. I get to make plans. Build things. Travel. Laugh. Worry about stupid things. Wake up on an ordinary Tuesday and occasionally forget that cancer was ever part of my life. That ordinariness is a gift I don’t take lightly.
Sarah did not get the same ending. After years of living with and fighting cancer, Sarah passed away. She is missed immeasurably by her family, her friends, and the community that loved her. And she left something behind that is much harder to describe than a résumé or a list of accomplishments. She left the experience of having been loved by Sarah.
I was one of the lucky people who got to experience that.
So we decided to keep giving it away
So we decided to keep giving it away
The idea behind The Chemo Box is actually very simple.
When you’ve been through chemotherapy, you learn things you never particularly wanted to know.
You learn what helps when everything tastes strange. What feels good on skin that has suddenly become impossibly sensitive. What you want beside you during a long infusion. What can help protect your hands and feet. Which small comforts become surprisingly important.
And you learn that being cared for matters.
So we took what we learned and put it in a box.
The idea behind The Chemo Box is actually very simple. When you’ve been through chemotherapy, you learn things you never particularly wanted to know. You learn what helps when everything tastes strange. What feels good on skin that has suddenly become impossibly sensitive. What you want beside you during a long infusion. What can help protect your hands and feet. Which small comforts become surprisingly important. And you learn that being cared for matters. So we took what we learned and put it in a box.
The Chemo Box is filled with the things we wish someone had handed us when we started treatment.
Not promotional swag. Not a collection of random samples. Useful, thoughtful things selected by women who have actually sat in the chemo chair and understand what those days can feel like. And we give those boxes away. Completely free.
The Chemo Box is filled with the things we wish someone had handed us when we started treatment.
Not promotional swag. Not a collection of random samples. Useful, thoughtful things selected by women who have actually sat in the chemo chair and understand what those days can feel like. And we give those boxes away. Completely free.
Why Sarah’s Name is on this organization
Why Sarah’s Name is on this organization
The Chemo Box is a program of the Sarah Gehman-Allen Foundation because I wanted the organization carrying this work forward to carry Sarah with it. I can’t recreate what Sarah gave me during treatment. But perhaps we can recreate a tiny piece of how it felt:
A stranger can pay for a box for someone they’ll never meet.
A friend can nominate someone they love.
A woman beginning chemotherapy can open her front door and find a package assembled by people who understand something about what she’s walking into.
Inside are useful things, yes.
But underneath all of them is a much simpler message:
Someone thought about you.
Someone cares that this is hard.
And someone wanted to make it a little easier.
That feels like Sarah to me.
Her love keeps moving - one box at a time. 🐅💗
The Chemo Box is a program of the Sarah Gehman-Allen Foundation because I wanted the organization carrying this work forward to carry Sarah with it. I can’t recreate what Sarah gave me during treatment. But perhaps we can recreate a tiny piece of how it felt:
A stranger can pay for a box for someone they’ll never meet.
A friend can nominate someone they love.
A woman beginning chemotherapy can open her front door and find a package assembled by people who understand something about what she’s walking into.
Inside are useful things, yes.
But underneath all of them is a much simpler message:
Someone thought about you.
Someone cares that this is hard.
And someone wanted to make it a little easier.
That feels like Sarah to me.
Her love keeps moving - one box at a time. 🐅💗
THE CHEMO BOX
A program of the Sarah Gehman-Allen Foundation
501 nonprofit organization
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