My idea for this garment draws inspiration from my mother. She has stage 4 cancer, and a year later, I have not fully acknowledged the situation but rather, have replacing thoughts as a coping mechanism. I feel it is time for me to be brave enough, to confront the problem and I feel it would be nice if I could make this project about her.

My inspiration draws from dying plants. It is an obvious symbol of death, but in it lies so much beauty of not what is gone but what it has become.

I also aim for this garment to help cancer patients with their side effects faced before (extreme anxiety) and after (nausea) chemotherapy.

To help calm her nerves, the scent of lemongrass can help. Many other scents may work too but I thought since I have memories of cooking with her and she loves the smell of particularly the lemongrass, it would be nice to choose this scent instead. Although there’s limited research on the effectiveness of lemongrass essential oil, a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2015 found that participants exposed to lemongrass essential oil had an immediate reduction in anxiety and tension and recovered quickly from an anxiety-inducing situation compared to those who inhaled a control aroma (tea tree oil) or a placebo.

Lemongrass Study: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2015.0099

I also thought it would be nice to play some nice tunes. Music therapy usually helps patients reduce anxiety and pain and can help with their quality of life. Furthermore, music may have a small positive effect on heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. Reduction of anxiety, fatigue and pain are important outcomes for people with cancer.

Music Study: https://www.cochrane.org/CD006911/GYNAECA_can-music-interventions-benefit-cancer-patients

“Just experiencing the real beauty of music can give people a sense of hope,” Bradt added. She’s a music therapist herself, specializing in pain management. “It’s like putting a blanket around somebody, but it’s an auditory blanket.”

http://amacf.org/healing-vibrations-the-effects-of-music-therapy-in-cancer-patients/

As for the nausea, based on our results, a study had concluded that the essential oils of spearmint and peppermint are less expensive, and a safe and effective therapeutic option for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and emesis in patients.

It was administered 30 minutes before the chemo and later again at home. There were no side effects of the scent.

Nausea Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3562057/