Advice On How To Handle Living With A Cancer Patient
If you are living with a family member or close friend who has recently been diagnosed with cancer, then you need to understand that this is not going to be easy for either of you. Although their lives are going to be impacted, yours will be as well. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of some advice on how to handle living with a cancer loved one. Read the below article for this advice.
First, you need to understand that there is no one to blame when it comes to your loved one’s cancer. It is not your fault, and it is not their fault. Unfortunately, bad things happen to people, even good people. Life is not fair, no matter how much we would like it to be. No matter what the situation is, blaming others is not going to do anyone any good.
Make sure that their cancer is not the focal point of your lives. Although you should not completely ignore it and pretend nothing is wrong, you do not need to completely focus on it. Continue to go out and do the stuff the two of you would normally do. Be social with others. Don’t just sit at home moping about their cancer.
Although you should not allow cancer to consume your lives, you still should not act like it does not exist, because the cold hard truth is that it does. Allow them to gripe to you on occasion about their condition. Although they should not blame themselves or others, we all have moments of weakness sometimes. So, if they go on a rage and start blaming the world, reach out your hand, even if they start speaking badly about you. Understand that this is a terrible and confusing situation, and they are likely to lash out at you on occasion. Do not allow yourself to get mad or upset. They are only lashing out because they are upset themselves. You need to be their rock as much as you possibly can.
Although the previous paragraph stated that you need to be their rock, that does not mean you should neglect your own feelings. You are only human, and their cancer likely makes you just as upset as them. Therefore, you need to take some time to grieve yourself. Cry when you need to. Talk to your friends and family about it. Also, although you may believe you should hide your feelings from your cancer loved one, this is just not true. Pretending like everything is fine is never a good thing. Let them know that you are scared as well. This can actually help them because they know they are not alone.
Finally, convince your cancer loved one to join a support group. Although you are doing all you can to support them, you are just one person. You can only do so much. Having a support group with lots of people, especially those who also have cancer, can be extremely beneficial for both them and you.
Living with a family member or friend who has cancer is not an easy thing to do. However, your presence can tremendously help them overcome their cancer. Make use of the advice you have just read, and do not give up.
