SUPPORTING CAREGIVERS FOR CANCER WARRIORS Written by Musqan Butt
On February 4th, the world observes World Cancer Day, a day set aside to promote cancer awareness and the prevention, identification, and treatment of the disease. The theme for this year’s campaign, which will run from 2022 to 2024, is “Closing the Care Gap: Everyone Deserves Access to Cancer Care.” Cancer care is a critical issue that affects not only the patient, but also their family, friends, and caregivers, making it a topic that goes far beyond just the cancer patient themselves.
We must recognize and honour the strength and resilience of those who provide support to cancer patients; they are the shield-bearers who help them fight the battle with cancer, and we must not overlook their importance. Helping a family member, friend or patient through cancer treatment makes one a CAREGIVER which is a huge responsibility and requires a great deal of dedication and care. Being a caregiver means that you help them with their daily needs which might include:
- Their personal needs such as dressing, bathing, shaving
- Household chores such as cleaning, cooking, and laundry
- Managing the patient’s finances
- Planning for their care and services such as doctors’ visits
- Providing emotional support
Cancer caregivers often face the difficult reality of taking on a life-defining role of providing care and support for their loved one from the moment of diagnosis throughout the entire treatment process. Caregivers will usually put aside their personal needs and feelings to focus on and support the person in need of care. This can be an incredibly draining and strenuous experience, both mentally and physically, and it is important to remember to take care of yourself and prioritize your well-being even as you continue to care for the person with cancer.
CAREGIVERS AND DIAGNOSIS
Discovering that someone close to you is battling cancer can be an incredibly difficult experience, and it can bring forth a wide range of emotions such as anger, sadness, guilt, and more. You may have some good days where you feel hopeful and positive, but you may also have bad days where you feel worried, overwhelmed and afraid. Such a situation might lead you to think that your feelings are not important and that your sole focus should be on the person battling cancer. It is important to remember that your feelings, needs, and well-being is equally important. As a caregiver, you can only offer the best care if you also take the time to care for yourself first.
SWITCHING ROLES
Once the person in your life is diagnosed with cancer, it may lead to a shift in the way you care for them. Although you may have played an active role in their life before you may yourself take on a more supportive role as you help them navigate this difficult time.
Accepting the changes that come with the diagnosis and your new role may be hard. It is thus important to recognize and acknowledge that there is a distinct change in your role when you become a caregiver. Although you may feel like this is just a natural role you have to take on for someone you love, it is still vital to distinguish between your role as a family member or friend and your role as a caregiver. Because there is a clear difference between the two.
Your role as a caregiver may come with new responsibilities and stresses that you haven’t experienced before, and this might cause you to feel confused and stressed. Previous responsibilities may also be amplified, and it is common to feel overwhelmed. Don’t worry, it’s all human! The caregiver role is very demanding, and you have probably gone through waves of different emotions as you care for the person. Many caregivers describe it as being on a rollercoaster. It is common for caregivers to feel sad, angry, relieved, guilty, confused, hopeful and worried. You may relate to one or all of these feelings and all this is normal.
As a caregiver, it is easy to get caught up with things and in the end, you realize that you may have taken on more than you could manage. To effectively fulfil your role as a caregiver, it is essential to make time for yourself and practice self-care – this will help you manage your caregiving duties and responsibilities more positively and healthily.
#CloseTheCareGap
4 KEY WAYS OF TAKING CARE OF YOU
Caring for your own needs and feelings can give you the strength you need to cope and carry on. Make time for yourself to rejuvenate your mind and body to better manage your role. Here are a few tips on how to care for yourself:
- 1. Find time to relax and replenish your energy
Try to take at least 30 minutes a day to unwind and do something for yourself. For example, you could take a nap, read a book, listen to music, watch TV, or do anything else that you find relaxing.
2. Reclaim parts of your usual routine
Your role as a caregiver may take a lot of your time and energy but if you can, try to continue with some of your regular activities. You might have to do things at a different time of the day, but still, try to do them anyway.
3. Ask and get ready to accept help
It’ll be easier to find time for yourself if you can ask others for help. You can think about a list of the things you could use help with like scheduling appointments or running small errands as well as the people who can help you with this.
4. Find emotional support
As earlier mentioned your role as a caregiver can lead to a range of different feelings. It may be difficult to manage these emotions but bottling them up is not healthy and could affect your mental, physical and emotional wellness. It might be a good idea to find a therapist whom you feel comfortable with so you can share your feelings and thoughts with them. Regularly talking about your feelings and sharing your experience can be a healthy way of managing your emotions.
TAKING CARE OF OTHERS
Having said all this, some caregivers need information and therapy but do not have the resources to get these services. You can a cancer caregiver access to emotional and mental support by donating to the Suruvi https://suruvi.co.ke/adopt-a-caregiver/ initiative.
The Adopt-A-Caregiver kitty is an initiative undertaken by Suruvi-Care for Caregivers whereby proceeds received go towards providing deserving caregivers with therapy services and information at subsidized rates or no cost. To support a caregiver in this way, click on the donate button on our website https://suruvi.co.ke/adopt-a-caregiver/ or use the Mpesa Pay Bill Number 4047551 Account name ‘Adopt’ to support caregivers all over the country.