Dos, don'ts to help cancer patients



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With regard to metastatic breast cancer, Pink Ribbon Girls can share more stories than they would like to admit. Pink Ribbon Girls are non-profit organizations that provide free direct services to clients with breast and gynecological cancers.

This is the harsh reality of their work. Sixty percent of clients served by GWP currently live with cancer Mets. This means that 60% of the clients served will fight cancer for the rest of their lives. Although treatable, there is no cure for the dishes and the treatment is often hard and unforgiving.

Unfortunately, most people do not fully understand metastatic breast cancer. So many clients will have to constantly explain that there is no cure and that their treatment will never end. This is not a condition for which you can just keep fighting and staying positive.

Heather Salazar, Executive Director of Pink Ribbon Girls, and Sarah Gillenwater, Director of Marketing, recently visited one of their clients at Hospice. As they discussed the illness and its effects on their client's life and family, they asked her what advice she would give to other people who are also going through this time.

"Live one day at a time," she replied. "Do not rush your life. Everything can change in a moment and you can not rely on everything for everything to go well. "

You have already heard that no cancer is a routine. There are no two identical experiences, and because of that, people trying to help do not always know how to react and often say the wrong thing.

Together, the three decided to make a list of the top 10 do's and don'ts for those who do their best to help someone with cancer.

DOS AND DO NOT WHEN SUPPORTING A PERSON WITH CANCER

1. Do not say, "You are beautiful."

It's just something to say. You do not have anything to say at all. Saying nothing is an option.

2. Do not say things like, "You can do that. I am a survivor of two years. "

Do not compare your story with mine. Our stories are not the same.

3. Acknowledge that you are allowed to have regrets, but keep moving forward.

You can not do anything for what has already happened. Make the most of what lies ahead.

4. Do not say, "Everything happens for a reason."

There is no need to go through the cancer centers to learn something from life.

5. Ask people for help.

But give yourself also the grace of not wanting it.

6. Do not say, "Let me know if you need anything."

Just freaking show and do it. If I do not want you here, I'll let you know.

7. Let me do things alone.

Stop hovering over me. The hover is overwhelming. Let me decide what I have the strength to do.

8. …

Unfortunately, the list had to stop there. After number seven, the client's energy was put to good use and they decided that it would be better to rest than to press for completion.

This is the clear message here. Living with metastatic cancer is not an easy journey. It's exhausting both mentally and physically for the client and his families.

It's here that Pink Ribbon Girls comes in. The mission of the GWP is to balance the fear and uncertainty that breast and gynecological cancers arouse in individuals and families by providing free direct services of healthy meals, housekeeping, treatment and treatment. 39, mutual assistance between clients. They have been serving this client intermittently since her initial diagnosis three years ago.

"You have no idea what this client and his family represent for us," Salazar said. "It occupies a prominent place in our lives, and watching it go through it just feeds the fire and wants to do more. At the end of her treatment, she will leave behind her husband and three beautiful young children. She is just one of the many clients and their families who make this trip. We do what we can and want to do more. We carry this burden in the hope that this will allow them to have the mental and physical space to love their family and focus on their lives now. "

Pink Ribbon Girls hopes to use this experience to educate the community about the reality of metastatic breast cancer.

"At PRG, we are less concerned with awareness than with action. We understand the importance of awareness and research, but they still have a long way to go to find a cure. These customers need us now. That's why we are here. They live with cancer 24/7. It's not just an October thing for them or for us. We are focused on these 365 days of the year, "said Gillenwater.

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