Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

(Houma) -- Every patient at Mary Bird Perkins at Terrebonne General Medical Center (TGMC) will soon receive an inspirational goody bag to help them through their treatment journey. This generous gift is made possible through the fifth annual Ladies Night Out Gala, held at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center in Houma and sponsored by Mary Bird Perkins at TGMC. Funds from the event, held on March 12 and prior years, are being used to stuff the bags with things like a water bottle, notepad, pens, lip balm, cards and a book called “Learning to Dance in the Rain: The Power of Gratitude” by Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher.

Lisa Positerry, guest relations coordinator at TGMC, said the original goal of Ladies Night Out was to raise money for things like wigs, scarves, specialty products and items to fill the hospital’s cancer boutique. But since its inception four years ago, the scope and mission of the event has grown. Attendance this year totaled nearly 750 people.

“We've been so successful,” Positerry said. “We really wanted to do something that would touch every cancer patient.”

Each patient that Mary Bird Perkins at TGMC treats will now receive a goody bag. The bag itself is a burgundy tote with the Mary Bird Perkins at TGMC logo on it – perfect for patients bringing medications, books and other supplies to and from home during treatment.

"We hope that the things in this bag will help them with the journey through their treatment process,” Positerry said.

Some of the funds will also be used to help patients with travel and medication costs. Those funds will be used to help pay for medical equipment costs as well.

Positerry said breast cancer patients will receive a different bag than other patients. These bags are made possible through a grant from the Bayou Region Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Louisiana Breast Cancer Task Force. She said the contents of the bags are similar, but considerably more pink.