Our Story

The story behind Billie Baxter Books

When I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma, life changed very quickly.

There were appointments, treatment information, blood results, medication information, invoices, insurance paperwork, business cards, pamphlets and notes. I quickly found myself keeping it all in a very ordinary plastic-sleeve folder that came with me to every treatment.

It wasn't beautiful or particularly organised, but I carried it everywhere because I never knew what I might need.

And that was really the problem.

You don’t know what you don’t know.

One of the hardest parts of going through chemotherapy was realising how much I didn’t know to ask.

When you’re suddenly thrown into treatment, there is so much information coming at you. You’re trying to understand what is happening, remember what people have told you, keep track of appointments and results, and make decisions about things you may never have had to think about before.

I found myself learning as I went — often realising after an appointment that there was something I wished I had asked, written down or kept.

Over time, I began to see that what I needed wasn’t simply somewhere to store paperwork. I needed something that could help prompt me, guide me and keep everything together while life felt anything but organised.

An idea that stayed with me.

The idea for what would eventually become the Chemo Compendium didn't turn into a product overnight.

Treatment finished. Life moved forward. I completed further study, worked in roles that drew heavily on organisation, coordination and planning, and the idea continued to sit quietly in the background.

Over time, I kept coming back to the same question:

What would I have wanted at the beginning, if I'd known then what I knew by the end?

Not simply somewhere to put paperwork.

Something that anticipated some of what was coming.

A place for appointments and treatment information. Somewhere to record symptoms and blood results. Space for notes. Proper storage for the loose documents, cards, referrals and receipts that accumulate along the way.

And importantly, questions.

Questions for when you've just been diagnosed. Questions that become relevant during treatment. Questions for afterwards.

Not answers or medical advice — just thoughtful prompts to help someone prepare for conversations with the healthcare professionals looking after them.

Practical could still be beautiful.

I've always loved good stationery and thoughtfully designed things.

So if I was going to create this, I didn't want it to feel clinical, disposable or like another piece of hospital paperwork.

I wanted something substantial and beautifully made. Something that could sit beside you at an appointment without feeling medical, while still being genuinely practical enough to earn its place there.

That thinking eventually became the Chemo Compendium — the resource I wish I'd had when my own treatment began.

It was designed from lived experience, but it wasn't designed only around my experience. It was developed around the practical information, questions, records and paperwork that can accumulate throughout a chemotherapy journey, while leaving the medical decisions where they belong: between each person and their healthcare team.

And then came Billie Baxter Books.

The Chemo Compendium became the beginning of something larger.

It made me realise that there are significant times in life when people are suddenly expected to manage an enormous amount of information while also dealing with something emotionally, physically or practically demanding.

Sometimes support doesn't need to be complicated.

Sometimes it can simply mean giving everything a place.

That idea became Billie Baxter Books.

We create thoughtfully designed, practical resources to help people feel a little more organised, prepared and supported through significant life journeys.

The Chemo Compendium is where that story begins.

And as Billie Baxter Books grows, the principle behind it will remain the same:

Thoughtfully designed tools that help you keep what matters together — with empathy, practicality and care.