All too often we hear the story of breast cancer survivors whose loved ones couldn't cope with the diagnosis, treatment, surgery, radiation, side affects, scarring etc., and were so overwhelmed that they left the relationship. What follows is a brief descriptive characterizing the role of a care giver and the value it represents to the patient. This precedes the narrative of breast cancer survivor Krystle Hansley, whose relationship with her loved one fell apart due to the onset of Breast Cancer. In the future we will follow up with a more extensive Caregivers Guideline.
Characteristics of care giving
There are many characteristics of life as a caregiver. The support that one provides to a cancer patient/survivor includes many of the following: emotional, physical, intellectual, financial, social, spiritual, nutritional, and motivational aspects to name just a few. But you are never alone. There is help and assistance everywhere. I found the following links to be quite helpful in coming to terms with my role as a caregiver.
From diagnosis onward the responsibilities associated with caregiving kick in. There are meetings and discussions with your oncological and surgical teams. Options and alternative courses of action are proffered and weighed. Decisions have to be made in short order so it’s best to prepare yourself ahead of time by performing as much due diligence as you can. Do your research on the various options as spelled out by your team. Once a course of action is agreed upon and plotted take particular care to stay on top of developments, I.e. scheduled appointments, pain/emotional management, medications, coordinating and communicating information to the extended caregiving family, and helping with chores.
At all times be aware that you are there to assist the patient. This isn’t about you. Involve yourself with the patient’s emotional issues. You do not need to be a medical professional. Common sense and responding through the lens of caregiving should provide you with enough tools to deal with the myriad emotions that arise, such as fear and depression/sadness. There are many support groups that you can reach out to, including hospital care groups, psychiatrists, social/media pages, #survivingbreastcancer.org.
Guest Blogger Krystle Hansley,
At the start of the summer in 2016, I was in the “prime” of my life. I had a prestigious research fellowship working on a HIV vaccination project at Tulane University; I was entering my last semester of graduate school, and I spent my weekends strolling down the lively streets of New Orleans. Everything was perfect, or so it seemed. Little did I know that a storm was coming. Within a few weeks, everything would change -- forever. On July 15, 2016, while sitting on the same bed where I had spent countless hours studying some of the world’s deadliest diseases, I received a phone call that would throw my whole world into disarray. That day, at the ripe age of 27, I was diagnosed breast cancer.
