5 Tips for How to Support Someone Fighting Cancer
Cancer is a disease that demands a lot from the patients. Medical treatments are powerful, yet exhausting both physically and emotionally. And even though, a person battling cancer needs rapid treatment, most of the time, they need emotional support, as well.
No person should go through cancer treatments alone. Family and friends need to be there to offer emotional and other types of support – whatever they can give. All of that will go a long way towards helping the cancer patient overcome the disease.
However, it’s not always easy to know what to do when a loved one is battling cancer. That’s why we wanted to provide you with five essential tips that can lead to the creation of the best support system on the road to healing and recovery.
Be There and Be Present for Someone Fighting Cancer
We all know that it’s important to be there for a loved one who is undergoing cancer treatments. However, not all of us know how to truly be there. You can often fall into the problem of not knowing what to say to someone who’s dealing with cancer.
It’s only natural to feel lost. What you need to know is that it doesn’t matter what you say. What matters is that you are truly there for your loved one, listening and caring for them.
Offer to Help with the Little Things
People who try to do their best often forget that it’s not about doing huge things – the real help can be provided through the small stuff.
When someone close to you is fighting cancer, offer to help them with small errands like grocery shopping, cleaning, doing the laundry, etc. All of these add up to something much bigger.
Be Understanding When a Cancer Patient’s Needs and Plans Change
A person battling cancer can’t conform to routines and habits. Their needs can often change. To truly help them, you need to be flexible. You need to try and help them when they really need that help, not just when you have the time or energy.
Help Support the Cancer Patient’s Caregiver
Battling cancer together is also about other people who are involved – the family members, friends who are helping, as well as the caregivers. These people also need to be supported, and you can provide that help.
You can help emotionally with family members, and you can help caregivers when you notice they are stressed. After all, we are all humans, and we all need others to lean on in difficult times.
Never Forget About Yourself
We know that you want to offer the best support you possibly can. You should. However, you can’t forget about yourself in the process. Just like new parents forget to take care of themselves as they are concentrating on their baby, they can run the risk of hurting themselves and subsequently not being able to care for their newborn. Similar things can happen to people who are supporting others in their battle against cancer.
If you forget to take care of yourself while you’re caring for someone with cancer, you run the risk of hurting yourself and not being able to help anymore. Thus, it’s vital to take care of yourself and the person with cancer.
The Bottom Line
The five tips we provided here should help you to form the best support system for your loved one.
Thousands of and women diagnosed with cancer each year turn to our trusted team of cancer specialists. We encourage you to call us at 850-610-3743, ask us a question, or consult with us to get a second opinion, so you, too, can experience the difference.