It is important that when someone in your life has been diagnosed with cancer that you give yourself time to process the diagnosis because your mental health is just as important as theirs. When you have processed the information you should learn about the diagnosis and think about how your friend or family member feels.
Helpful Tips for Supporting a Friend or Family Member:
- Ask for their permission before you give them advice, come visit them or even when asking questions and make sure they know that it is okay to say no.
- Make plans with them and treat them how you did before they were diagnosed so that they know this won’t come in between your friendship.
- As well as laughing with them to lighten their mood, you also need to know that sadness is okay and that they are going through a rough time.
- Most importantly do not only talk about their cancer. There are many other things yous can talk about to get their mind off it as they have spent enough time talking about cancer already.
Click this link to see a list of Patient and Family Support Centres that can help you.