Products With a Purpose
This is not a list of products added simply because they can earn a commission. These are tools, books, recovery items, travel products, and everyday resources connected to experiences Sue and I have actually had along the journey.
When we have personally used something, I’ll tell you why it mattered. When an item is included because I believe it may solve a problem for someone facing a similar situation, I’ll explain that too.
A quick note: What helped me may not be right for everyone. Products related to recovery or health are shared from personal experience and are not medical recommendations. Always follow the guidance of your own healthcare team.
Shop by Category
Whether you are navigating treatment, supporting someone you love, planning the next adventure, or creating your own story, these collections are built around real-life needs.
Recovery Essentials
Recovery taught me quickly that some of the most useful things are not always the things anyone thinks to mention beforehand. These are practical products connected to my own prostate cancer surgery and recovery journey, along with items that helped make everyday life more manageable.
These were especially helpful on days when a full shower felt like too much effort. They gave me a quick way to feel clean without making hygiene another recovery challenge.
There were days early in recovery when a normal shower felt like more effort than it was worth. A rinse-free shampoo cap made it possible to freshen up without having to stand in the shower or deal with a full hair-washing routine.
I used this during early recovery when standing for long periods was more tiring than I expected. It gave me a lightweight place to sit nearby without turning simple routines into a bigger project.
These gave me extra stability as I started walking farther after surgery. They helped me feel steadier while I gradually rebuilt confidence and endurance.
Leakage was simply part of my recovery. Having dependable protection let me focus more on healing and less on worrying about an accident.
As my continence improved, I did not always need the same level of protection I needed early on. Guards offered a lighter option as leakage became more manageable and I started moving toward the next stage of recovery.
Bed pads gave us an extra layer of protection during the early weeks of recovery. They helped take some of the stress out of nighttime leakage and made cleanup much easier if an accident happened.
I spent more time sitting and resting than usual during recovery, and compression socks became one of the practical items I kept on hand. They are not appropriate for everyone, so I would check with your healthcare team before using them.
Middle-of-the-night bathroom trips became part of recovery. A motion-activated toilet light made it easier to find my way without turning on bright overhead lights when I was still half asleep.
Recommendations With a Reason
Real-Life Use Matters
Many of the items featured here are things we have personally used during recovery, travel, caregiving, content creation, or everyday life. When that is the case, we will tell you why the product mattered to us.
Not Every Product Is for Everyone
A recommendation is not a promise that something will be right for you. Especially when health or recovery is involved, use these ideas as a starting point and make decisions based on your own circumstances and the guidance of your healthcare team.
Caregiver Favorites
The journey does not belong only to the patient. The spouse, partner, family member, or friend beside them is carrying a journey of their own.
Sue has been my co-pilot through appointments, surgery, recovery, treatment, and all of the unexpected turns along the way. These resources focus on some of the practical and emotional parts of caregiving — staying organized, helping safely when assistance is needed, and remembering that the caregiver deserves support too.
Caregiving can mean keeping track of medications, symptoms, appointments, questions, and instructions all at once. A dedicated caregiver log gives those details one place to live and can make it easier to bring useful information to appointments.
Caregiving is not only a practical responsibility — it can be emotionally exhausting too. I included this book because caregivers sometimes need encouragement and support of their own while they are focused on caring for someone else.
Helping another adult stand, walk, or transfer can be physically demanding for both the patient and caregiver. A gait belt can be useful in the right circumstances, but proper technique matters, so ask your healthcare or rehabilitation team how and when one should be used.
Something as simple as getting up from a chair can become difficult during illness or recovery. A lift-assist handle gives the person standing and the caregiver another point of support, although it should only be used when it is appropriate for the person’s mobility and condition.
Not every caregiver gift needs to solve a medical problem. Sometimes the point is simply to remind the person doing so much for everyone else that their effort is seen and appreciated.
Caregivers spend a lot of time making sure someone else is okay. A simple appreciation gift can be a small way of saying, “I see what you are doing, and it matters.”
Books & Resources
Some of the most useful tools on a difficult journey are not medical devices. They are the resources that help us organize information, prepare better questions, understand another person’s perspective, and make sense of what comes next.
I want this collection to stay focused on resources that genuinely connect to patient advocacy, caregiving, preparation, resilience, and navigating major life changes.
Cancer can quickly create a pile of appointments, medications, test results, symptoms, and questions. A dedicated medical planner gives that information one place to live and can make it easier to stay organized and arrive at appointments prepared.
Caregiving can mean keeping track of medications, symptoms, appointments, questions, and instructions all at once. A dedicated caregiver log gives those details one place to live and can make it easier to bring useful information to appointments.
Caregivers can become so focused on the person they are helping that their own needs move to the bottom of the list. This book focuses on the other side of caregiving — protecting your own physical and emotional well-being while supporting someone you love.
This true story follows a family navigating uncertainty, advocacy, persistence, and the fight to bring someone they love home. I included it because those themes — continuing to ask questions, refusing to give up, and advocating for someone who matters — extend far beyond any one kind of journey.
Leadership is not always about having a title. This book explores how people can influence, communicate, and make a difference from wherever they are — ideas that can also apply when learning to advocate for yourself and others.
Part inspiration and part trip-planning resource, this book is filled with ideas for exploring national, state, and regional parks. For us, continuing to plan adventures is part of remembering that cancer may change the route without ending the journey.
The Journey Is Still Life
Cancer became part of our story, but it did not become the entire story. Sue and I still think about the places we want to see, the roads we want to travel, and the memories we still intend to make.
This collection is about that part of the journey — practical RV gear, camping essentials, travel organization, and resources that can make getting back on the road a little easier and a lot more enjoyable.
🚐 RV & Travel
Gear, organization ideas, travel accessories, and practical products for getting back on the road and continuing the adventure.
One of the things I like about RV and camping travel is having the ability to make a campsite feel a little more like home. A portable cook station creates extra prep and storage space without taking up permanent room inside the RV.
Cooking outside is one of the things that makes RV and camping trips feel like part of the adventure. A portable pellet grill gives you the flexibility to cook away from home without giving up the kind of meals that make sitting around the campsite even better.
It may not be the glamorous side of RV life, but managing the tanks is part of the deal. A dependable sewer-hose setup is one of those basic pieces of equipment that can make an unpleasant job simpler and more manageable.
A comfortable chair can make a big difference when the goal is to actually slow down and enjoy where you are. A folding rocker gives you a real place to relax at the campsite without taking up a lot of storage space while traveling.
A good headlamp is one of those inexpensive pieces of gear that becomes useful more often than you expect — setting up after dark, walking around a campground, checking something outside the RV, or keeping both hands free while working.
Staying organized matters even more when you are working with limited space. A hanging toiletry bag keeps everyday grooming and personal-care items together and makes them easier to access in an RV, campground bathroom, or hotel.
Hot nights and still air can make camping uncomfortable fast. A rechargeable fan gives you portable airflow without depending on an electrical hookup and can be useful both inside the RV and around the campsite.
RV life comes with hundreds of little lessons that are easier to learn from someone else than through trial and error. This book collects practical ideas for organization, safety, maintenance, camping, and making everyday life on the road easier.
Sometimes planning the next adventure is part of the adventure itself. This atlas combines maps, photography, history, and information about America’s national parks and is the kind of resource that can get you thinking about where the road might lead next.
Creator Gear
Jonesing For The Journey did not start with a professional studio. It started with a story I wanted to share and a willingness to learn as I went.
These are the kinds of tools I use to record videos, improve audio and lighting, stabilize a phone or camera, and create the content you see across JFTJ. I have learned that you do not need the most expensive setup — you need equipment that helps you tell the story clearly and consistently.
The Pocket 3 gives me a compact way to capture high-quality video without carrying a large camera setup. Its small size makes it especially useful when I want to record away from my normal filming location or capture parts of the journey as they happen.
Good lighting made one of the biggest improvements to the quality of my videos without requiring a complicated studio setup. A ring light gives me consistent lighting when I am recording indoors and makes it much easier to get a usable shot with a phone or camera.
A stable camera matters more than expensive equipment. A phone tripod gives me a dependable place to position the camera, adjust the height and framing, and record without needing someone else behind the phone.
Handheld phone footage can become distracting quickly when the camera is constantly moving. A gimbal helps smooth out walking shots and other handheld footage when I want something more polished than simply holding the phone.
Explore Our Complete Amazon Storefront
The JFTJ Shop highlights the products and resources most closely connected to our journey. Our Amazon Storefront includes the broader collection — from recovery and caregiver resources to RV gear, travel favorites, creator equipment, and more.
VISIT THE JFTJ AMAZON STOREFRONTAs an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
More Than a Shop
Jonesing For The Journey was never created simply to recommend products. It was created to share what we learn, help people ask better questions, and remind someone facing uncertainty that they do not have to walk the road alone.
When an affiliate purchase generates revenue, that support helps us continue producing videos, articles, patient advocacy resources, free guides, and future projects designed to pay hope forward.
Take What Helps. Leave What Doesn't.
Every journey is different. Our goal is simply to share the things that helped us, the lessons we learned, and resources that might make someone else's road a little easier.
And So…The Adventure Continues.