When I think of cancer I think of how important support is. A few years ago, my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. This came as a surprise to not only my aunt but to the rest of the family. Initially she wasn’t feeling well and not like herself and we encouraged her to go to the doctors and let them see what’s going on. The doctors ran multiple tests and came to the conclusion she had a small tumor in her breast.
This was a bittersweet moment because we were glad this was detected early but knew this disease can be fatal. She was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer. She had to figure out which treatment she wanted to have but, it was rather simple because she was in the early stage. She ended up getting a lumpectomy to remove the tumor and was still under the careful eye of the doctor.
Also, the doctors will want to use hormone therapy if they see any threatening cells in the future as long as that’s a viable option. This was great news because she overcame this disease. While my aunt doesn’t live close to us, she still communicates with us often as this helps her mental health. Also, she visits us five times a year and my four children also bring joy to her. I’m really happy that she has overcome this disease and has a positive outlook on life. I know that looking forward to her visits to us and going to New York bring her a lot of joy.
This just goes to show how important it is to have a support system that you can have weekly contact with because it can be hard to have physical contact during a pandemic and when you’re four hours away. My suggestions after helping a family member through this disease is to check on them often, not necessarily asking about their disease but just check on them and see how they’re doing. This can show you care about them and by being consistent it can give them a sense of security. Also, if they ask for help with ANYTHING, make an effort to just make it happen. Many times people are afraid to ask for help in fear of rejection (even family members) and it shouldn’t be this way.
There are so many effortless ways to help and to cheer someone up, support is essential.
xoxo
Jeanette @ravishing_tresses
