Living with cancer
Cancer is often a
disease that lasts a long time and people may get treatment for many years.
Sometimes, people close to the patient who were very involved at first grow
distant as the treatment continues over the course of months or years. It’s
understandable that you can become “burned out” when supporting a person with
cancer. Still, people with cancer need emotional support throughout the entire
course of the illness.
Remember that
encouragement and support can help people with cancer get a new perspective and
have hope, even when they feel beaten down by cancer or its treatment. Also,
the support of family and friends helps people with cancer have as normal a
life as their illness allows. So, if you are going to be a support person for
someone with cancer, try to hang in there for the long term. Being there and
then leaving can be very painful for the person who needs you, and can be even
worse than never being there at all.
It’s often hard to
know if you are crossing boundaries or treating the person with cancer too much
like a “cancer patient” and not like your friend or family member. Encourage
the person with cancer to let you know if you cross this line. Every person with
cancer appreciates the friend or family member who remembers that they used to
be a person without cancer — that they had, and still have, strengths and
weaknesses, interests, and parts of life that have nothing to do with cancer.
Sometimes being the person in the “cancer patient’s” life who remembers the
whole person is a special gift.
WE BELIEVE THAT YOU SHOULD NOT BE BURDENED BY HAVING TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE OR GARDEN WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED OR ALREADY LIVING WITH CANCER.
WE THEREFORE OFFER YOU A FLOWER AND 20% DISCOUNT ON ALL OUR SERVICES FOR ANY PERSON WHO HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED AND LIVING WITH CANCER AND WHO RESIDES IN THE JHB METROPOLITAN AREA.