Helping Your Family Member Deal with the Emotional Impact of Cancer
You might already have an idea how cancer is going to affect your senior’s body, but you might be surprised how it can affect both her emotions and your own. Helping your elderly family member through the emotional end of things can be one of the most important things you do for her.
Home Care Services Broomall PA – Helping Your Family Member Deal with the Emotional Impact of Cancer
Help Her to Identify Her Feelings
Your elderly family member might not even realize all of the emotions that she’s experiencing. She might be afraid, angry, relieved, or any number of other emotions. None of these feelings are “right” or “wrong,” either. What she feels is just what she’s feeling. Identifying those feelings is hard enough, there’s no need to judge them.
Express Those Emotions
Your senior does need to find a way to express what she’s feeling in a healthy manner. She might want to talk about the fact that she’s relieved to finally know what those odd symptoms mean or that she’s angry that this is happening to her. There are other ways to express what she’s feeling beyond talking, too. She might find it helpful to scream and rant for a little while. Crying is an excellent release.
Journaling Can Help
Another way that lots of people find relief for what they’re feeling is to start journaling. Writing out their feelings and what’s behind those feelings can help your senior to process those feelings and reflect on what they mean for her. If she’s nervous about keeping a journal, you might want to reassure her that you won’t read it unless she someday asks you to do so. journal entries can be incredibly private and it will be easier for her to be honest in her journal if she’s not worried about what others might think.
Let Go of Some Stuff
There’s a lot that pops up with a health diagnosis like cancer. Your elderly family member might wonder about what if things had been different or what she could or should have done to avoid this disease. But going down these paths will only frustrate her more. Help her to let go of this type of baggage so that she can deal with things as they are.
You Need to Deal with Your Emotions, Too
Your elderly family member is dealing with a lot of feelings, but you are, too. You may find that joining a support group gives you a chance to talk about how your elderly family member’s diagnosis affects you. Home care services providers help to make this possible for you because they’re able to handle your senior’s needs while you focus on yourself for a little while.
Figuring out what your senior needs most in the moment can be a crucial part of supporting her in this journey. Don’t forget that taking care of your needs can help you to be stronger supporter for her during this time.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in Broomall PA, please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
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