Care Basics

Mark’s comment: I became the primary caregiver for my mother because I was the only relative who lived nearby, and I was also the one who was emotionally closest to her. After I reached adulthood, I had become as much a friend to her as a son. I was also fortunate enough to be self-employed, [...]

A caregiver is someone who helps another person to do things that ordinarily he would be able to do by himself. There are professional caregivers such as nurses and nursing attendants who provide this care as a formal service for pay. Then there are the millions of informal caregivers, including family members and friends, who [...]

Mark’s comment: When I was caring for my mother, and now that I have two friends with cancer, I have made a habit of offering whatever seemed to make sense in the situation. I’ve bought groceries for them, given them rides to different places they might need to go—things like that. I did a lot [...]

You can say the same things you said to them before they had cancer. Don’t be afraid to mention the disease, but attend closely to their responses. This means to listen not only to the words, but also the tone of voice and to observe body language. Some people want to talk about their cancer, [...]

When people hear the word cancer, they think of it as some “thing” in the body: a lump, a mass—the tumor. Look in a medical textbook, however, and you will find cancer defined as an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells—a process. To understand how these two are connected, we first need to understand some [...]

When people hear the word cancer, they think of it as some “thing” in the body: a lump, a mass—the tumor. Look in a medical textbook, however, and you will find cancer defined as an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells—a process. To understand how these two are connected, we first need to understand some [...]