By Grace Allen

For the past 8 years, a Norfolk woman has been collecting donations and assembling gift bags for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Rachael Cochran estimates she has given away over 1,000 bags in total, in a quest to make women feel cared for during a difficult time. 

This year, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she has set her goal at 500 bags. Last year, she donated 350 bags.

“We are seeing so many sad, terrible things in our world right now, and this is one way I can make a difference,” said Cochran. “It’s a nice way to give back and it’s something I’m really proud of.”

Cochran is a Senior Division Leader for Park Lane Jewelry, a direct sales jewelry company. For her fundraiser, she suggests a donation of $40 which she uses to purchase a piece of jewelry through Park Lane. She then uses her commissions to purchase self-care items like socks, lip balm, tea, and hand cream, for example. These items, along with the jewelry, are placed into pink bags which are then delivered to UMass Breast Center Health, formerly the Breast Center at Milford Regional Medical Center.

“Some people give $5, some give $200,” explained Cochran. “Everybody gives what they want to give, and I don’t make any money personally from this. I just enjoy giving back through my business.”

Park Lane is not affiliated with the project, although some of Cochran’s team members have contributed and even started their own projects. Cochran says she got the idea from a previous company after watching a friend battle breast cancer.

Recipients of the gift bags are very appreciative, Cochran has learned. She has received notes from patients, including one that said, “I was just at Milford Hospital Breast Center and received the kindest gift during my visit. You are doing an amazing thing. Visits bring all levels of anxiety. Leaving with this amazing gesture put a smile on my face, and I love the bracelet.”

Two years ago, Cochran was delivering the bags to the hospital and a man stopped her and asked for one for his wife, who was sitting nearby in the lobby. Cochran gave a bag to her—the first time she had handed a bag over herself.

“Watching her open the bag and seeing how much excitement and joy it brought her in a time when she was going through so much, it really moved me to keep doing this,” said Cochran.

A team of volunteers--friends and family--help Cochran assemble the bags in early November. Around Thanksgiving, the bags are delivered to the Milford hospital, which was one of the few area facilities that would take the bags during the height of the COVID pandemic. 

Cochran and her husband Paul have lived in Norfolk since 2001. They have three children, a daughter in college and twin boys in high school. She is a long-time volunteer in town and served for many years on the Norfolk Community League board. During COVID, she ran a similar project—Project Sparkle—for nurses in local hospitals, as a way to acknowledge and thank them for their commitment during a difficult time.

Amanda Sweeney, the surgical oncology supervisor at UMass Breast Health, said in an email that the new hospital system is eager to work with Cochran.

“We have been giving these little packages to our newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and they have been so well received,” she said. “While this was something the previous breast center did, it was important to UMass Breast Health Center to continue this. The patients see this kind gesture and it allows them to make a deeper connection to the care team that will be overseeing this new journey in their life. While the diagnosis is always hard, seeing the smiles on women’s faces when receiving these bags has been a reward to us here in this space. Our patients are always so grateful, and I couldn’t see moving forward without these!”

Want to help? Send an email to Cochran at [email protected] to make a donation to the Chemo Care Package Project during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.