How to help a loved one with cancer
Hearing that a loved one has cancer is a massive shock for everyone, and often one of the biggest issues is feeling powerless. There are, however, a lot of ways that you can support a loved one with cancer, and while it may never feel like you are doing enough, your support is always invaluable to those loved ones.
Here are some of the best ways that you can help people to cope or manage whilst living with cancer, or if they have just received a cancer diagnosis. All of them will be valuable and will aid them in recovery. Don’t ever doubt that.
Be Available And Around
Your loved one may not know what type of support they need from the people around them, especially at the beginning of the diagnosis when your loved one is only just coming to terms with the fact that they have cancer. But the most important thing you can do at this stage is to simply be there and be someone they can lean on.
They might need someone to take them to appointments, to help them with chores around the house, to sit with them through treatments, or to just be a reassuring beacon through the hardships. It’s important that you can fill at least some of these roles to give your loved one strength and support. Once further information is given about the cancer and a plan is enacted to fight it, then you can start to take on stronger roles.
Help Them To Appointments
Cancer can be very overwhelming, especially with all the appointments that come with it. Your loved one will need to see doctors, take medication, undergo tests, and have treatments all designed to fight against the cancer, and the stress of it all can cause problems.
Dates can get mixed up, appointments can be confused, and even a successful treatment can take a lot out of your loved one. In order to ensure that your loved one gets to their appointments and takes all their treatments on time, you can work with them to set up a reminder system or a calendar.
There are also plenty of resources that you can help your loved one to benefit from such as charities including Macmillan, Maggie’s and Marie Curie, or organisations such as Perci Health’s online cancer support where you can have a virtual appointment with a specialised expert. Making sure that you share all the options available is one of the best ways to help out your loved one cope with the many impacts of cancer.
Help Them Take Their Minds Off It
As much as your loved one wants to battle cancer, sometimes they also want to take their mind off a situation that they can’t control and go back to everyday life for a while. You can help them take their minds off the cancer diagnosis by talking to them about other things, showing interest in one of their hobbies, and taking them to the movies or to another event that will allow them to think about something else.
Never underestimate the power of a good conversation or a fun event that will change your loved one’s mind and personality about cancer. It can also give them renewed vigour to fight the cancer as well, especially after a good day that reminds them what they are fighting for.
Remind Them That They Aren’t Fighting The Battle Alone
One of the scariest parts about cancer is how it isolates you, and makes you feel like it is you vs the disease. However, if you focus on spending time with your loved one and helping them with every step of their experience, it can make them feel like they are fighting cancer as part of a team rather than as an individual.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is just stand by their side and remind them that you are there and that you aren’t going anywhere. Whether it’s through words or actions, that reminder is sometimes the best thing that keeps the fight going for your loved one.
Provide All The Help You Can
No matter what, don’t be afraid to provide all the help you can whenever you are facing a loved one with a cancer diagnosis. They will be grateful, as will the team of doctors and specialists who are fighting the cancer right there alongside your loved one.
Consider Other Options
A cancer diagnosis and treatment plan can seem rather like being on a treadmill, and it is extremely easy for both the cancer patient and any carers to just follow the course plotted for them. But do consider there may be other options your specialist hasn’t mentioned. Or perhaps your loved one would prefer not to go down a certain route but feel they have no option.
Whilst it isn’t up to you to take control of what is happening, you can ensure you ask questions and do your research. Sometimes, cancer specialists are so busy they don’t have time to talk about the basics. For example, did you know that plant-based nutrition improves cancer outcomes? Did you know that sugar feeds cancer?
Organisations such as Perci Health, as already mentioned, Yes To Life and CancerActive can often provide a great deal of advice about the pros and cons of different treatment options and the best ways to support a loved one with cancer. It’s certainly worth having a conversation with any or even all of them.