Caregivers

It is a fact that in most households the woman makes the decisions regarding healthcare for her loved ones. This includes nudging her husband to get his blood pressure checked, or taking the children to the pediatrician to get their vaccines and other medical care.

It would be very unusual for a cancer patient to go through diagnosis and treatment without a loved one by their side. This loved one is usually a family member who is serving in the role of caregiver and likely has never been involved in supporting and taking care of someone with cancer before. They accompany the patient to consultations, surgery, chemo, and other treatment sessions. They are instructed by oncology providers what to do for their loved one after each of these visits and between doctors’ visits. What they aren’t provided very often is support for themselves.