Hi Annette - Thanks again for another insightful and helpful post. Just as most patients aren't prepared for a cancer diagnosis, most of the patient's friends and family members haven't been prepared for how to handle this either.
My oncology practice offers some helpful tips for family members and caregivers. I found this tip very helpful:
Use the same language as your friend uses. If he/she says cancer, you can say cancer. If he/she says tumor or malignancy, use those words.
This helped me realize that I needed to tell my friends that it was okay to use the word cancer around me, and let them know it would not make me uncomfortable. I also realized that they were waiting for some direction from me in order to more easily open up conversations.
You are absolutely right that it's important to get to the point where you can have a real dialog with others. Thanks again for great insight on how to do this.
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Hi Annette - Thanks again for another insightful and helpful post. Just as most patients aren't prepared for a cancer diagnosis, most of the patient's friends and family members haven't been prepared for how to handle this either.
My oncology practice offers some helpful tips for family members and caregivers. I found this tip very helpful:
Use the same language as your friend uses. If he/she says cancer, you can say cancer. If he/she says tumor or malignancy, use those words.
This helped me realize that I needed to tell my friends that it was okay to use the word cancer around me, and let them know it would not make me uncomfortable. I also realized that they were waiting for some direction from me in order to more easily open up conversations.
You are absolutely right that it's important to get to the point where you can have a real dialog with others. Thanks again for great insight on how to do this.
Take good care,
October 29, 2009 - 5:44pmPat
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