{"id":1074,"date":"2015-08-19T16:35:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-19T20:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cancerawarenessnews.com\/?p=1074"},"modified":"2015-08-18T16:36:59","modified_gmt":"2015-08-18T20:36:59","slug":"what-should-be-your-approach-with-friend-who-has-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cancerawarenessnews.com\/what-should-be-your-approach-with-friend-who-has-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"What should be your approach with friend who has cancer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Video: \u00a0How To Be There For Your Friend Who Has Cancer<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Friends of cancer patients often want to help, but don\u2019t know what to do. Here we will give you some ideas about where to start. Today, most people with cancer are treated in the outpatient setting \u2013 they don\u2019t have to stay in the hospital. Advances in cancer treatment and symptom management let them remain at home. During this time they often need help, support, and encouragement.<\/p>\n

\"breast-cancer\"

When someone close to you has cancer, it can be difficult to know what to say or do. We\u2019ve compiled a list of tips and thoughtful gestures that can make your friend feel cherished and supported.<\/p>\n

VIDEO and ARTICLE CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE BELOW<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Send well wishes, cards, messages, and texts, but don\u2019t overwhelm her. Set a reminder on your phone, or set a specific day where you always check in, even a simple \u201cthinking of you.\u201d Let her know that she doesn\u2019t need to respond if she\u2019s not up for it.
\n2. Make or deliver meals, and drop them off in containers you don\u2019t need returned. Or have food delivered from her favorite restaurants.
\n3. Focus on the person instead of the illness when you ask her how she is. Ask her what she\u2019s been up to or what she\u2019s reading. Stroll down memory lane or talk about future day trips you can take together.
\n4. If you\u2019re very close to your friend, offer to be the sieve for messages, phone calls, and gifts. Having someone who is able to field concerns and well wishes can be a welcome relief for your friend so she doesn\u2019t get overwhelmed or tire herself out trying to respond to everyone.
\n5. Don\u2019t offer medical advice.
\n6. Make frequent, shorter visits rather than lengthy stays that may exhaust her. Call ahead first to make sure she\u2019s up for it.
\n7. Accept her coping mechanisms. We all have different ways of handling stress and sickness. Understand that if she grows distant, she\u2019s just trying to grapple with this huge change. Be there for her when she decides she\u2019s ready for company. If she\u2019s angry or lashes out, understand that anger and frustration are part of the process. Love her anyway.
\n8. When you visit, bring along your own book, knitting, or other quiet task, so that you can sit with your friend without her feeling like she needs to entertain you if she\u2019s tired. Sometimes silent companionship is all she needs.
\n9. If you\u2019re the super-organized friend, put your talents to good use by creating a calendar. Mark down treatment appointments, days where friends are delivering meals, and appointments her children or spouse may have. Take it a step farther by making sure that there is a friend or caretaker that can drive her to appointments or at least stop by and sit with her (if she wants that).
\n10. Offer to do the cooking and cleaning around the house, whether it\u2019s once a week or once a month.
\n11. Gift a housekeeper, a traveling masseuse, or a traveling hair stylist\/manicurist. Getting some pampering at home (or if she\u2019s up for it, taking her to their place of business) can be a lovely treat.
\n12. Offer to help with special projects she started and is unable to keep up with, like gardening or painting a bedroom.
\n13. Donate to cancer research in their name. Help researchers find a cure for cancer by donating to one of our Gifts That Give More. Your entire donation goes to the cause!
\n14. Has it been a few months since diagnosis? Check in with your friend. The outpouring of support may have died down as she\u2019s adjusted to her illness. Make sure she still knows she has people to rely on.<\/p>\n

15. Entertain her. Offer to take her to the park or to the movies; buy her the next book in the series she\u2019s been reading; listen to her favorite albums together.
\n16. Entertain her family. Keep her kids busy or take her spouse out for a bite to eat. Take her kids to practices or babysit them for a night.
\n17. Fundraise for her. Cancer treatments are costly. There are several ways to help raise money for your friend, from flamingo flocking to a car wash to specialized bracelets, and more.
\n18. Listen. You don\u2019t need to offer advice or try to come up with a cliche line about how cancer is a journey and she\u2019ll get through it because she\u2019s strong. Just listen. Hold her hand. Tell her that you\u2019re there for whatever she wants to talk about, whether it\u2019s her fears or joys.
\n19. If she\u2019s going through chemo and is losing her hair, buy her pretty head scarves, caps, or wigs if she wants to cover it up; or buy her gorgeous earrings if she wants to flaunt her baldness! Take her shopping or order with her online.
\n20. Tell her you\u2019re there for her, and mean it. Ask your friend if she needs anything, and be specific. She probably doesn\u2019t want to be a burden, or may not even know what she needs unless she\u2019s prompted. Ask her if she needs anything from this list!<\/p>\n

C. KRAMER<\/p>\n

blog.thebreastcancersite.com<\/a><\/p>\n