A friend in need is a friend indeed, this saying goes on to show how great friendship is manifested when you lend a helping hand to a friend. The one time you get to know who your true friends are is when you need a helping hand. Taking good care of a friend should not be done out of being an obligation but from the goodness of your heart. Today, most people have had the first-hand experience of dealing with a cancer patient. Criticality of cancer depends on the stage and when it is at stage four or five, its considered to be terminal.
Regardless of the stage, after patients have been diagnosed with cancer, they become more vulnerable and very emotional. At this time the disease is already taking a toll on their health and physicality. After finding out that your friend has been diagnosed with cancer, it is important not to panic, sit down, breath and internalise the news first. Panicking does not help, and showing this to your friend who has just received the news may make their health deteriorate very fast bearing in mind the huge challenge that lies ahead. Here, you might be feeling angry for your friend, guilty for that you could have done nothing to avoid the situation and this is where you start doubting whether you will be able to support him or her
Learn about the diagnosis, do proper research, have all the required information on how it will affect the patient as time goes by Ask yourself how it would be affecting you if you were in the same shoes so as to see the perspective of the patient. Discuss in detail with your friend about the diagnosis so as to help them be mentally prepared to handle the task that is in front of them. With the many forms of cancer, Stage Four Mesothelioma Cancer help would not be any different.
How to Support a Friend With Cancer
The following are a few things that you should do when supporting a friend with cancer,
– Ask to help in undertaking different tasks around the household such as doing chores, laundry, preparing a meal from time to time so as to allow the patient more time to rest.
– Offer to take your friend to the doctor for appointments and make a follow up on what the doctor says the patient needs.
_ Create humour and laugh, but also, it is important to allow sadness because acceptance is very paramount. – Talk about other topics other than cancer, visit outdoor places such as parks, coffee shops whenever you can to take off your friend’s mind from the sickness.
– Allow for flexibility on your schedule because an emergency may occur at any time and when you least expect it
– Don’t change the way you treat your friend, your friendship should not be altered because of the sickness. – Form a support team if possible and make sure you always accompany your friend to the meetings.
– Shower them with gifts such as flowers and balloons to make them feel special and loved.
Conclusion
Friendship portrays a beautiful part of humanity. Encouraging and supporting a friend with cancer, seeing the friend through treatment can leave a wonderful lasting impression on your friendship.
My name is Elaine and I'm a self proclaimed "do it yourself addict". I am the mother of the best 11 year old boy ever and my husband's not too shabby either