If you have a friend who has just gotten a cancer diagnosis, you may not know how you should react or what you can do for your friend. Getting a diagnosis of cancer, no matter how treatable the cancer is, is going to be very scary for your friend. Many people may end up not talking to your friend just because they don't know what to say or do. That can make your friend feel very isolated. A good support system of caring friends and family can make it somewhat easier on a person who is fighting cancer because they know that there is someone there to help them fight. There are several things that you can do to help your friend during this difficult time.
Arrange Rides
Your friend is going to have to go to doctors' appointments and chemotherapy treatments. They may also have to go get radiation treatments. The medications that your friend has to take to fight their cancer will probably make them very sick and very tired. That can make it so that they can't drive, so they will likely need someone to take them to all their appointments. You can set up a rotation for friends and family who can supply rides for your friend to get back and forth to their appointments.
Set Up Childcare
If your friend has kids, those kids are going to be scared. Even if they aren't old enough to completely understand what's going on, they can tell that their parent isn't feeling normal. Their parents are going to be worried and not feel well. You can set up times for people to take care of the kids. Friends and family members can take the kids out for a few hours so that the parents can get some rest, and these friends and family members can also take care of the children during appointments and keep the kids overnight sometimes.
Make Meals
When your friend has cancer, they may not have time to make meals. If they have a family, it can be hard to make sure that there is time to make meals. You can help by arranging for people to make meals ahead of time so that all your friend has to do is heat up meals. You can also do things like pay for meals to be delivered or give your friend gift cards for various restaurants. Not having to worry about what to make for a meal can make anyone's life easier.
It can be hard to know what you should do for a friend who has just gotten a cancer diagnosis, but there are ways that you can support them and make their fight a little easier. For more information about cancer, talk to a professional organization such as Sturdy Memorial Hospital.
Share5 July 2016
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