What can you do if you have someone close to you with cancer?
If you know a family member, friend or close friend with cancer, you need to know what you can do to help them and here we are going to share some ideas.
The diagnosis of cancer is news that affects physically, mentally and emotionally not only the sick patient but all the people around them.
Around this disease there are negative beliefs and feelings of fear, anger and frustration that both the sick person and their family and friends can experience, however this should not prevent us from accompanying our loved one in these times of need.
If you know someone who is diagnosed with cancer, it is important that you know how to react and how you can help them, so that you can stay present and show them your support throughout their process, in addition to helping them improve their quality of life.
These are our recommendations to help someone close to you with cancer
- Become their companion to medical appointments:
Facing cancer alone is an unimaginable task, it is best to have someone to take you to appointments and medical sessions and also talk to you and entertain you.
You can be that chatty friend who offers to accompany his friend to medical appointments and treatments, you can organize your time with medical schedules that are almost always specific and provide that great emotional support.
- Help with household chores:
The routine inside the home can become chaotic after diagnosis, people don’t have time to think about cooking, cleaning or doing laundry, you can take care of that.
The same applies to taking care of the children in the family or pets, any action that takes a weight off the shoulders of the person with cancer and their close relatives.
You can offer to clean, wash, and put away clothes or bring ready-made food and organize it in the refrigerator.
- Stay in mind:
Whether it’s physically or virtually, either way let your friend know they can count on you when they need you.
You can call or text periodically to find out how you spent the night, how you’ve been feeling, or whether or not you’ve eaten.
You can also schedule a time a day to visit him/her, such as in the late afternoon, and bring things to share with him/her such as movies, books, and snacks to help him/her relax and spend some quality time with you.
Connecting with memorable moments that lift your spirits is the key to helping you with your illness, improving your attitude and thus lifting the spirits of the whole family.
Take into account the availability of your friend to receive visitors, cancer treatment can bring with it strong discomfort and irritability that leave as a consequence the desire to isolate yourself.
If you don’t want to have visitors that’s fine, be patient and stay present through text messages or calls.
Being understanding is also a way to be supportive.
- Maintain or reactivate physical contact:
In the face of the uncertainty of the disease there are various reactions that humans use to protect ourselves, but don’t get carried away by that.
It’s normal to feel fear, sadness, confusion, and even frustration about your friend’s health situation.
Even so, be sensitive, hug, caress, kiss, show your affection in any way.
These gestures make him feel good, help him to let off steam and even to connect in a special way with companionship.
The main idea of your presence is to help them in their process to survive cancer, every grain of sand you contribute to their physical, mental and emotional well-being is important.
The physical aspect will be taken care of by their doctors, but in the emotional aspect you can make a difference and thus help them get better soon.
- Lead and organize:
If you think that alone is not enough, you can find a group with other friends and family to meet all the requirements that your friend with cancer needs.
Providing this organizational support is a great relief for the sick person, assign tasks to friends depending on their availability. Remember that every help counts and is valuable!
If you can only mow the lawn once a week, leave that task to them, someone else to make the week’s meal, someone to accompany them to appointments, and you can even create a schedule to support the kids getting on with their routine.
A united community is stronger, with a group of friends who share the tasks, the responsibility will feel lighter and at the same time the sick person will feel strong and accompanied.
- Fundraising:
Sometimes economic concerns are silent enemies.
If you have a close relationship with your friend and you know the diagnosis is eating into their savings, you can create fundraising strategies that include friends and acquaintances.
You can comment or do it as a surprise for the deceased person and the collection can be in money, food or medicine depending on each case.
We hope these recommendations help you better connect with your friend with cancer.
