Eight Awesome Tips To Help Cancer Patients

Acts of Kindness To Help Make Life Easier for A Patient Undergoing Cancer Treatment
By Margot Malin     

It may be an awkward moment when you learn that a friend, loved one, or coworker has been diagnosed with cancer. You may initially be at a loss for words and yet you want to offer empathy and comfort. Here are 8 Tips and Helpful Gifts of Kindness so you can create your own plan to help the cancer patient you know along his or her journey.

Food – Go grocery shopping – stock the refrigerator with fresh, healthy and easy to prepare items. Cook dinner for the family and deliver it.

Childcare – Cancer patients get tired, sometimes very tired. You can offer to baby sit for young children. Offer to arrange and take older children on play dates. If you know the children well, take them on a little outing – to the playground, to a movie, to a show or museum. During this stressful time, school work might suffer. Offer to tutor, or arrange for a tutor for those subjects that are particularly challenging right now.

Laundry and other daily chores – Laundry can be easily postponed when someone is not feeling well. Offer to do the laundry – at your home or theirs – or take it to a wash and fold service. Helping with other daily chores and activities can be a great way to relieve the patient of some activities which might be repetitive, tiring and stressful.

Chemotherapy and Radiation sessions – Offer to drive to radiation oncology sessions and chemo appointments. Sitting and receiving an infusion can be cold and lonely. Stay during chemo to help the time pass – you can write letters, read aloud, listen to music, or look at poetry during these sessions. Bring a warm and cozy blanket with you. Other things you can bring to pass the time: an ipad, a laptop, a Kindle, craft supplies.

Doctor appointments – Offer to drive to a doctor appointment or accompany the patient on public transportation – and if the patient is open to the idea – be present when the patient speaks with the doctor. A second set of ears is a welcome addition during this stressful time. Maybe you can think of questions that the patient might be too overwhelmed or nervous to consider. You can also take notes about the visit to be sure that the important takeaways are remembered.

Medical record keeping and medical research – You can help by doing medical research about the patient’s diagnosis as well as research into complimentary and alternative therapies. Personal health record keeping is especially important during treatment and beyond. Consider purchasing either a special loose leaf / workbook to keep track of paper records, or the Minerva Health Manager, electronic personal health record software.

Side effect solutions – There are many products to help unpleasant and uncomfortable physical side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. For example, you can find products to help radiation dermatitis, radiation burns, hair loss, dry mouth and mouth sores, nausea, and more. To learn about products that can help reduce and relieve cancer treatment side effects visit www.LotsToLiveFor.com.

Books, CD’s and Music – There are many inspirational books written by, and about cancer patients. Just two examples are: From Incurable to Incredible – Cancer Survivors Who Beat the Odds written by Tami Boehmer, a cancer survivor and When Cancer Hits – A Complete Guide to Taking Care of You Through Treatment authored by Britta Aragon, also a cancer survivor. There are rest and relaxation CD’s. Breast Cancer Yoga has created a CD for breathing and meditation and a DVD for gentle yoga. Recovery Fitness also has an Exercise for Cancer Patients DVD. There are also CD’s and DVD’s available to reduce stress and enhance relaxation.

A little thought and creativity can help you come up with many other helpful ideas. You can even ask the patient to give you a wish list of what kind of help they might appreciate for their situation. Some of the best expressions of support are inexpensive and some are free – but they are all priceless to the patient receiving your kindness.

Margot Malin is the CEO, President and Founder of Lots To Live For, Inc. which sells carefully selected products to reduce and relieve the uncomfortable and unpleasant side effects caused by chemotherapy and radiation. Lots To Live For, Inc. was founded after the passing of Margot’s mother and grandmother who both fought courageous battles against cancer.

To find products to help reduce and relieve the uncomfortable and unpleasant side effects of cancer treatment please visit: www.LotsToLiveFor.com
Visit our facebook page at: www.facebook.com/LotsToLiveFor for information and inspiration!

New Book: Skin Care Guide for People Living With Cancer

This new book makes a wonderful gift for a cancer patient. It has important and helpful information for individuals undergoing treatment for cancer, and is especially informative about cancer side effects.



Click here to buy this book on Amazon. View the book on Amazon.com.

Book description from the publisher:
"More people than ever before are living with and surviving cancer. However, the human cost of life-saving cancer treatment may be unexpected side effects to the skin, hair, and nails. How can patients navigate these changes without affecting their treatment, their appearance, or even their sense of who they are? Dr. Lacouture's Skin Care Guide for People Living With Cancer is the first book written by a board-certified dermatologist to help patients care for treatment-associated skin, hair, and nail toxicities, which can range from mild and annoying to serious enough to affect health, treatment, and quality of life. In this book, Dr. Mario Lacouture discusses a number of side effects that may rise from chemotherapy, biologic therapy, radiation therapy, stem-cell transplants, and other tools in the fight against cancer. He offers a number of practical suggestions that are useful to people living with cancer, including preparation for the rash, itching, or dry skin that may come with treatment; care for the fingernails, and suggested products that will contribute to their health; awareness of the risks for hair loss, and resources that patients may need to cope; suggested moisturizers and cosmetics that are appropriate for patients' use; and specific information for survivors. Written by one of the foremost experts in the dermatologic side effects of cancer treatments, Dr. Lacouture's Skin Care Guide for People Living With Cancer offers patients clear information and practical suggestions for preventing, treating, and living through these changes during their cancer journey."

Lots To Live For, Inc. is dedicated to helping cancer patients who are experiencing unpleasant and uncomfortable side effects from cancer treatment. Lots To Live For, Inc. has an website that offers "One Stop Shopping and Solutions for All Cancer Side Effects" - selling products for skin care, hair care and nail care. Some of the product lines that http://www.lotstolivefor.com/ sells are mentioned in this book, such as the LindiSkin skin care line. Visit Lots To Live For, Inc. to find products to help alleviate cancer side effects.

You can also find Lots To Live For, Inc. on facebook. We post practical articles about dealing with cancer side effectsand interesting articles about new developments in cancer therapy. Please "like" us at www.facebook.com/LotsToLiveFor

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Great Gift Ideas for Cancer Patients from the Inspired Wellness Blog

When a friend, relative or co-worker tells you that they have cancer, you may be at a loss for how to respond, and wonder how you might help.

In a recent guest blog post on the Inspired Wellness Blog, we share some thoughts and ideas about Helpful Gifts for Cancer Patients. We share thoughts about how you can offer empathy and comfort.  Great gifts can be simple acts of kindness, products to ease side effects, inspirational items, or items to create a sense of well being and reassurance.

There are many daily tasks that you can offer to take over to help - such as grocery shopping, cooking meals, carpooling, and babysitting among others.

If you would like to give a physical gift consider gifts that can help alleviate unpleasant and uncomfortable side effects of cancer treatment.

You can read the full article on the Inspired Wellness Blog by clicking here

Please read it and share it with others.

You can find gifts for cancer patients at http://www.lotstolivefor.com/

Below is a picture of the Fighting Back Gift Pack with items to help compromised skin caused by chemotherapy and radiation. You can check out other helpful and considerate cancer gifts by clicking here.