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Caregivers are Cancer Survivors, tooThe new name for cancer caregivers is CO-SURVIVORS because we, too, experience the JOURNEY from the moment our loved one is diagnosed with cancer. We face our own FEARS, we find our own COURAGE, we keep the FAITH for our loved one as well as our family, friends, and support network. We need SUPPORT and HOPE so that we will remain STRONG and SURVIVE ourselves. At the HEART of the matter is this: We need to face and EMBRACE LIFE when it CHANGES. CAREGIVER STATISTICS Over 50 million family caregivers are taking care of a loved one in the United States due to chronic illness, disability and injury. Of that number, 66 percent of caregivers are women. Three of four families will find themselves caring for a cancer patient. More caregiver statistics Approximately 10.5 million men and women are alive in the United States today who had a history of cancer of all sites: 4,692,397 men and 5,803,603 women. Unrecognized in this statistic are the cancer caregivers who also survived the ordeal, at least 10.5 million if you count one caregiver for one patient. (Source: SEER) The American Cancer Society estimates that 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Of the 1.45 million men and women who will be diagnosed with cancer in 2007, about 885,000 will survive. This is the cup-half-full version of the estimated new cancer cases and deaths in 2007. (Cancer Facts & Figures 2007) The number of survivors is increasing. The 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers diagnosed between 1996 and 2002 is 66%, up from 51% in 1975-1977. (Source) "Self-care is never a selfish act — it is simply
good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to
offer to others. Anytime we can listen to true self, and give it the care
it requires, we do so not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose
lives we touch." — Parker Palmer, author of "Let Your
Life Speak"
FINDING SUPPORT FOR YOURSELF AS A CAREGIVER Below are links to organizations or tools for caregivers. American Brain Tumor Association's new “Orientation to Caregiving” Handbook American Cancer Society Cancer Survivor's Network Cancer Care - Fact sheets on variety of topics from this national non-profit organization CaringBridge offers free, easy-to-create web sites that help connect friends and family when they need it most. Lance Armstrong Foundation at www.livestrong.org inspires and empowers people affected by cancer. LAF helps people with cancer focus on living. From the moment of diagnosis, the LAF provides the practical information and tools you need to live life on your own terms. Contact the LAF to request your free LiveSTRONG Notebook, a great way to organize and prepare for medical appointments and track medications and treatments.. Lotsa Helping Hands provides a free community coordination service for people going through life crises. A patient’s multiple communities can log on to see what the person needs and sign up for specific tasks, from bringing food to running errands to providing transportation to walking the dog. National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) National Family Caregiver Association People Living With Cancer (www.plwc.org) by the The American Society of Clinical Oncology provides information for those recently diagnosed or undergoing treatment for cancer. RedToeNail.org, an online community for people with cancer. The site allows anyone to set up a secure blog (see CURE, Summer 2005) to record what is happening in his or her cancer experience. Friends can log on and ask for e-mail updates whenever an update is posted. Your blog is whatever you make it. Friends and family can leave comments, discuss and contact you through the blog. It can be open to the public or visible only to those you invite. Students of Ailing Mothers and Fathers Support Network See more sources for spiritual seekers...
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Get
a sneak peek into an upcoming book that reveals the inner journey
of a cancer caregiver, a young
wife and mother whose husband becomes a long-term survivor of brain
cancer. It's the whole family's story of summoning courage, hope and faith while
learning to cope not only with the practical aspects of cancer and
caregiving but, most essentially, how
to really survive - - - - - - - - - - - - - Caregiver's I have the right to take care of myself. This is not an act of selfishness. It will give me the ability to take better care of my loved one. I have the right to seek help from others even though my loved one may object. I know the limits of my own endurance and strength. I have the right to maintain parts of my own life that do not include the person I care for, just as I would if he were healthy. I know that I do everything that I reasonably can do for this person. I have the right to do some things just for myself. I have the right to get angry, be depressed, and express difficult feelings once in a while. I have the right to reject any attempt by my loved one to make me do things out of guilt or anger. (It doesn't matter if loved ones know they are doing it or not.) I have the right to get consideration, affection, forgiveness, and acceptance for what I do for my loved one, as I offer these in return. I have the right to take pride in what I'm doing. And I have the right to applaud the courage it has taken to meet the needs of my loved one. I have the right to protect my individuality. I also have the right to a life that will sustain me in times when my loved one no longer needs my full-time help. —by Jo Horne Here is a printable version you can put in your journal, pocket or fridge to remind yourself, as a caregiver, that you have the right to take care of yourself. - - - - - - - - - - - - - A word from your sponsor...If you like this website or wish for encouragement
on a specific step in the caregiver journey, A poem for you from me |
| A Brainstorm Website: Read Scott Vickroy's Brain Tumor Success Story |
Cancer Care for
the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs