Physical

Cancer can be a long and emotional journey but with these 12 Ways How To Help Cancer Patients list, you can make a difference in someone’s life by giving encouragement, sharing sorrows and joys and understanding their needs.

 

 

 

When I was diagnosed with colon cancer I was homeschooling our last two kids for their junior and senior year. Knowing what I was up against treatment wise we decided to send our junior to private school and our senior, Courtney,  decided to get her CNA license and stay home with me so she could be my caregiver through chemo, radiation, and several surgeries. I believe she learned more about life and what she wanted to do as a career that year than she ever would have had she gone to school.  She did pick up where she left off the following year with a new perspective on life and how she would like to live her’s.

This list was written by Courtney as part of a college class presentation she had to do.  It has wonderful tips from a care giver’s perspective for helping close family and friends to acquaintances that have cancer.

 

12 Ways How To Help Cancer Patients

1 → Give the gift of a journal.  The cancer patient can journal their thoughts, write prayers out, events and milestones as they go through treatments which helps emotionally during their cancer journey. 

 

 

2 → Let a cancer patient know you are there if they need to talk. Don’t tell them just once, but remind them throughout their treatments. Mail them cards periodically to let them know you are praying for them. 

3 → Put up sticky notes in your home to remind you to pray for someone you know going through cancer treatments.  Pray for their healing, emotional state of mind, their family, and that they would be drawn even closer to their Lord.  

 

 

4 → On days a cancer patient has chemo or radiation take a meal for their family so they can rest and know their family is taken care of.  

5 → Give them gift cards to the grocery or restaurants, this helps take off a financial burden and it makes it easy for their family to pick up a meal.  

6 → Another good idea for how to help cancer patients is to organize a fundraiser to help ease the financial burden of cancer. There are so many little things that add up that insurance will not cover.  You can start a Go Fund Me page and share it with other friends and family so they can help too. 

7 → Doctors offices are always looking for a donation of snacks when people are getting chemo treatments. Many times the snacks in doctors offices lean more on the side of junk food such as chips, candy bars, and soda.  Take in healthy snacks such as nuts, fruit, diet ginger ale, and natural juices. 

 

 

8 → If you are crafty you can make all kinds of items that will help a cancer patient.  Chemo makes a patient not able to tolerate cold so knitted hats, scarves or gloves are a good choice. You could also make cards with prayers and thinking of you thoughts in them, many people are alone and could use some encouragement. 

9 → Donate books, puzzle books, and magazines to the doctor’s office. Some chemo treatments can take 5 or more hours.

10 → Give a cancer patient a copy of John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Cancer. Piper shares with the reader how Christians are called to respond when cancer invades their lives, whether in their own bodies or those of a friend or family member.  Piper gently but firmly acknowledges that we can indeed waste our cancer when we don’t see how it is God’s good plan for us and a hope-filled path for making much of Jesus. 

 

 

 

11 → Give small gifts to mark special milestones of their healing journey.  Peppermint lotions, candles, and candies are helpful on days they feel nauseous. Ginger tea or gum is also helpful for nausea.  

 

 

 

12 → Offer to clean their house and do laundry. If they feel uncomfortable having you do it hire a series to come in and help. This eases a big burden when a person does not feel good and allows them to rest. 

 

 

 

Free Printable

12 Ways How To Help Cancer Patients

 

 

 

Affiliate links in post ~ thank you for your support

Photo credit:  Niki Sanders  Janko Ferlič

SaveSave

If you would like to learn How Eating Plants Can Help Us Heal these resources will educate and inspire you.

 

 

The top go-to site that has helped me the most to understand why it’s so important to eat a plant-based diet is Dr. Greger’s NutritionFacts.org. Here you will find out what the latest science is saying about your favorite foods to help you make the healthiest choices for you and your family

 

How Not To Die From Cancer 

How Not To Die From Heart Disease

How Not To Die From Diabetes 

How Not To Die From High Blood Pressure

How Not To Die From Kidney Disease 

Treating Advanced Prostate Cancer with Diet

Anti-inflammatory Diet For Depression

Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease with Plants

 

These are several videos that have impacted my thinking about eating plant-based. If you have Netflix or Amazon Prime you can usually watch most of them there. If not click the image and it will take you to Amazon.

 

.

 

 

PBS Health Link also has a show that might be of interest. With an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains, plant-based diets can be a healthy way to reduce your risk of conditions like heart disease, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers. On this episode of ‘Health Link’, we examine the many benefits of eating a plant-based diet and offer tips on how to make the transition and meet your nutritional needs.

 

 

Do you want to encourage someone that eating plant-based can make a difference in their health and healing? Give them the facts,  let them read some of the diseases a plant-based diet can help prevent. As you can see by this list people could potentially reverse or avoid many diseases just by switching to a healthy, balanced plant-based  diet.  A printable pdf is available at the bottom of the page. 

 

 

Cardiovascular disease. Eating nuts and whole grains, while eliminating dairy products and meat, will improve your cardiovascular health. A British study indicates that a plant-based diet reduces the risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Plant-based diets go far in preventing heart attack and stroke.

Cholesterol. Eliminating any food that comes from an animal and you will eliminate all dietary cholesterol from your diet. Your heart will thank you for that.

Blood pressure. A diet rich in whole grains is beneficial to your health in many ways, including lowering high blood pressure.

Type 2 diabetes. Not only is a vegan diet a weapon against Type 2 diabetes, it is also “easier to follow than the standard diet recommended by the American Diabetic Association.” Read more about it here.

Prostate cancer. A major study showed that men in the early stages of prostate cancer who switched to a plant-based diet either stopped the progress of the cancer or may have even reversed the illness.

Colon cancer. Eating a diet consisting of whole grains, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, can greatly reduce your chances of colon cancer.

Breast cancer. Countries where women eat very little meat and animal products have a much lower rate of breast cancer than do the women in countries that consume more animal products.

Macular degeneration. Diets with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens, carrots, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes, can help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration.

Cataracts. Much the same way macular degeneration is headed off by a plant based diet, cataracts are also thought to be prevented through the intake of the same fruits and vegetables. Produce high in antioxidants are also believed to help prevent cataracts.

Arthritis. Eliminating dairy consumption has long been connected with alleviating arthritis symptoms, but a new study indicates that a combination of gluten-free and vegan diet is very promising for improving the health of those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoporosis. Bone health depends on a balance of neither too much or too little protein, adequate calcium intake, high potassium, and low sodium. With a healthy vegan diet, all four of these points set a perfect scenario for preventing osteoporosis.

PRINTABLE PDF

 

Information from : Nursingdegree.net