Top 4 Tips on Coping With a Family Member With Cancer
When someone in the family is diagnosed with cancer, all hell breaks loose. The emotional state of all family members goes haywire and one cannot find solace in anything as the fear of losing someone from the family stares one in the eye and one is unable to find any way to escape the inevitable. If you have a cancer afflicted family member, you must control your emotions, and let things flow smoothly in order to maintain order and calm in your home however bad you may feel, as all family members are at the point most susceptible to emotional breakdown at the slightest provocation of grief. Here are 4 key essentials to keep in mind while coping with cancer in the family.
1. Keep the children in the house abreast with the truth
Children are most vulnerable and are easily affected when they see their family members grieving and mourning for an imminent bereavement. If they are kept from the truth, they will begin to lose trust in you as an elder/parent/guardian. Remember they can easily sense that something is amiss at home and that things are being hidden from them, which scares them even more. Make sure that the children at home know that someone is seriously ill and that he /she needs a lot of rest. If they ask about the chances of recovery, do not reveal the near-surety of death, but also do not give them too much hope. Instead, tell them you do not know and ask them to pray for the patient’s recovery.
2. Do not show sympathy for the cancer victim
Imagine what the actual patient goes through when they come to know about their fate. The patient will need immense care and medication, for which they may have to be admitted to a hospital for a long period of time. Wherever the patient is, do not bring the subject of the illness at all. Discussing it with the doctor or among other family members is fine, but never talk about it when the patient is around or when you go to visit them in the hospital. The patient does not have to hear about their ill fate from everyone, every time.
