Listen to what the person has to say without judgment and make sure the individual knows that youll always be there no matter what.
How do you comfort someone with cancer. We want to fix things. Your help with daily tasks and chores is often valuable for a friend with cancer. If you need the inspiration to write a card to an acquaintance with terminal cancer you can use some of the ideas below.
It can also help you ensure that their pain and symptoms are addressed and that they have access to spiritual resources. But a listening ear is often what helps the most. Ask the person with cancer if they would like to talk about the experience.
You can be fairly certain that if your loved one brings up a difficult topic such as dying he has been thinking about. Cancer care nurse Josette Snyder RN MSN AOCN says there is such a thing as cancer etiquette Cancer etiquette is interacting with someone with cancer in friendly empathetic and appropriate ways. If thats your goal the odds are you will say something the hurting person feels is foolish unhelpful or worse will alienate the hurting person from you and other people.
There is a well-intentioned belief that providing good comfort involves saying something to make emotional pain less painful. Im so impressed by your courage and endurance. Sometimes the right thing to say to a person who has cancer is nothing at all.
Respect the other persons feelings. If it appears they are give breakthrough pain medicines as prescribed or check with the doctor or nurse if needed. If he doesnt want to talk about it then follow this wish of his.
Simply listening to someone with cancer may sound easy but is oftentimes surprisingly hard. If you do not see your friend regularly a phone call text message or video call can show that you care. Youve been cured of cancer and you should be feeling grateful.