Caring for Someone with Cancer

Learn more about what you can do to care for someone with cancer while also taking care of yourself.

Tips for caregivers

A caregiver is someone who is helping a family member or friend through their cancer treatment. As a caregiver, you may help with daily activities such making meals, managing medication or providing rides to appointments.

You may also coordinate appointments and manage other practical issues. Caregiving can also mean being a source of emotional support for someone going through cancer treatment.

Being a caregiver can feel overwhelming. Many caregivers put their own needs and feelings aside to focus on the person with cancer.

Always putting your own needs aside can have negative effects on your own physical and emotional well-being. Our Cancer care team can connect you to resources to help you take care of yourself while caring for someone with cancer.

For more information about community and online resources for patients and caregivers, visit coping with cancer.

Tips for couples coping with cancer

It is normal for both the person diagnosed with cancer and their partner to experience difficult emotions. Going through cancer treatment can cause a lot of stress within the relationship. In many cases, the partners of people living with cancer experience sadness, anxiety, anger or even hopelessness.

Finding ways to navigate living with cancer together is an important part of the process. It can help to talk about the worries and concerns each person is experiencing. You may also need to reorganize daily tasks and household responsibilities.

Some couples may find that facing the challenges of cancer together strengthens their relationship, but for others is may present new challenges or make existing problems worse. If you are having difficulties with this, our Cancer care team can help connect you and your partner to resources to help you cope.

The Canadian Cancer Society has tips for helping a partner or spouse cope with cancer care.

Tips for parents of children and teens

Being a parent while living with cancer is often physically and emotionally exhausting. A social worker can help you make a plan to manage daily routines and child care.

Telling your children that one of their parents has cancer can also be difficult. How much you want to share about the diagnosis can differ depending on the age of your children.

Our social workers can help you talk to your kids about your cancer diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

For more information about talking to children about cancer, visit the following resources: