Supporting Your ones is important to cancer patients’ recovery. However, a cancer diagnosis often catches everyone by surprise and shifts people’s accustomed roles. For example, those who haven’t struggled with cancer cannot understand what their loved one is going through both physically and emotionally.
Supporting A Cancer Patients don’t know how to show your love and support, make sure to read and see this article below:
- Supporting A Cancer Patient
Offer timely and practical help to your loved ones with cancer in order to make life a bit easier for them. Focusing on the day-to-day and tangible things, such as housework, running errands, and cooking can be of great help.
Not only will this help your loved one feel at ease, but it also shows how much you care, and how much you want to support them on their cancer journey. Just make sure that you have a schedule for everything, especially if you are working.
- Having a phone team is essential
It can be challenging for cancer patients to keep family and friends informed of their latest status at times. Therefore, the presence of a telephone team is beneficial. In this way, only one person in your group of family or friends communicates and updates the group.
Additionally, this person may let everyone else know if the patient prefers to be alone or if they want more phone calls.
- Be considerate of your loved one’s need to be alone
It is possible for your loved one with cancer to want to be alone in the meantime. If that is the case, be sensitive to their wishes. You can let those visitors know that your loved one feels tired and don’t forget to thank them for coming if your loved one feels obligated to entertain them.
- Understand that everyone’s illness is different
Although the type of cancer your friend has is the same as someone else’s, the signs and symptoms of each person’s illness differ. Avoid comparisons if you’re looking for a connection.
Don’t tell your loved one that someone with the same type of cancer is doing well. The stress won’t help your loved one fight cancer and may even make it harder for them.
- Listening Consciously
You may think listening to someone with cancer is easy, but it can be challenging. Everyone wants to solve problems or improve the situation. Often, people with cancer need a listening ear more than anything else. Always encourage your loved ones to express their feelings, even if those feelings make you uncomfortable.
Don’t be surprised if your loved one discusses the subject of death. However, allow them the comfort of sharing. Don’t interrupt them, don’t judge, and listen with your body and eyes, not just your ears.
Keeping a positive attitude is not always helpful and does not guarantee that it will influence the patient’s will to survive. Listening to them, however, provides them with the opportunity to explain how they’re feeling and helps them reduce tension from their current situation.
- Think Before You Give
It can be difficult to give gifts to a loved one with cancer for some reason. Flowers might not be appropriate for somebody whose immune system is already weak. However, magazines, books, movies, or puzzles can be a good idea, especially during chemotherapy. Significantly, the best gift you can give is spending quality time with them.
- Attend appointments
Attending appointments can also show your support and care for your loved one. A clinic or hospital can be a frightening place, and waiting in them is excruciating. Use a notepad and take notes. Be sure to let them make their own decisions, though.
- Smile or laugh at them
Laughter is undoubtedly the best medicine, regardless of how cliché it may sound. Cancer patients can face difficulties after chemotherapy treatments. Making them laugh or giving them a reason to smile will help them slowly regain their strength.
Laughter and silliness can keep things light and normal. This will allow your loved one to experience joy that they thought they would never experience again. Furthermore, making your loved one smile or laugh can inspire them to fight their battle well and believe in cancer miracles.
SUMMARY
Cancer is a difficult disease to have, but it’s especially difficult during this pandemic. Do your best to show your support for someone with cancer by keeping the above tips in mind. The best thing you can do for a loved one, even if you can’t financially support them, is to support them emotionally.
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