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Changes to Roles in the Family
A diagnosis of cancer changes a family forever. Figuring out "what's for dinner" or "what your plans are for the weekend" is suddenly less important. Family and personal values are questioned and priorities are tested. Unsettled feelings and arguments may resurface during a family's struggle with cancer. Often a family must sort out and revisit old, unresolved feelings before they can start to battle cancer as a family.
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Telling a Family Member about a Diagnosis
Sometimes family members are the first to learn of a loved one's cancer diagnosis. How does a family decide when or if to tell them? Should they be told? Are some people too emotionally fragile, too young, or too old? While most people can handle the news of a cancer diagnosis, each person takes a different amount of time to adjust and figure out what the diagnosis means to them.
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Coping with Anxiety
Anxiety (a feeling of worry or unease) and fear are common feelings that patients and families sometimes have when coping with cancer. These feelings are normal responses to the stress of cancer, and may be noticed more in the first week or two after diagnosis. Feelings of fear or anxiety may be due to changes in the ability to continue family duties, loss of control over events in life, changes in appearance or body image, or simply the shock of a cancer diagnosis. They may involve uncertainty about the future and concerns about suffering, pain, and the unknown. Fears around loss of independence, changes in relationships with loved ones, and becoming a burden to others may overwhelm the patient and complicate family life.
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Communication
When a friend or family member has cancer, it's sometimes hard to let everyone know their daily progress. CaringBridge enables families to set up free, personalized websites that support and connect loved ones during critical illness, treatment and recovery.
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