Caregiving

"I do not know how I would have gotten through my (cancer) diagnosis, treatment and recovery without … my amazing oncology nurse, my sister."

The care received by our patients (with cancer) has been described as “exemplary,” an incredible achievement for an infusion center that was a revolving door for short-term travel nurses with little-to-no full-time staff to provide the continuity of care that oncology nurses are well-known and admired for.

Anger is a reaction to injustice, which cancer certainly is. Sometimes I wished there was a place in the cancer treatment centers to let that rage out.

I am forever grateful that my life has been blessed and touched by this angel on earth.

Watching my sister undergo cancer treatment made me want to become a nurse, though after she was re-diagnosed, I’ve had to step away from that career path.

Actor and cancer advocate Patrick Dempsey explains that when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, it is important that family members make the moments they share together count.

A nurse navigator explains how people in their profession create bonds with their patients and guide them through the cancer experience.

She advocates for her patients’ needs and escalates pertinent information to the interdisciplinary team to be able to provide the best care possible.

If I get nervous about a test result, she always takes time to talk with my husband and me about it and explain what the results mean.

Every year, she helps coordinate fundraising for other lung cancer groups and research efforts. She is totally committed to the lung cancer community and her patients.

“I feel her strength, and because of Lorelei — the way she makes me feel comfortable and confident; the way she cares deeply for me, her other patients and colleagues; and her always professional attitude and manner — I realize that, like other obstacles, I will eventually be able to face this, too,” writes one nurse’s patient in an essay nominating her for CURE®’s 2022 Extraordinary Healer award.

For the first time in three years, CURE® welcomed 500 attendees in person and hundreds more virtually to honor the 2022 Extraordinary Healer® award recipient.

As part of its Speaking Out video series, CURE spoke with Sarah Miretti Cassidy, director of external affairs at Cancer Hope Network, about support for caregivers of patients with lung cancer.

Regardless of a man’s age, providing care to a partner or family member with cancer has been shown to take a drastic toll on their health. To make matters worse, research shows many men struggle in silence.

When caregivers — considered by many to be an essential part of a patient’s care team — have the tools they need to care for themselves and their loved ones, cancer outcomes can be better, too.

Having been a caregiver to my late husband who died from cancer, I know first-hand the difficulties of caregiving — not to mention what it must be like for those trying to do it during a worldwide pandemic.

In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, the founder of Jack’s Caregiver Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting men throughout the caregiving experience, explores the layered sociological factors which can affect men in unique ways when they are supporting a loved one with cancer.

Here is a poem for cancer caregivers, who sacrifice their time with compassion and devotion to do everything they can to help an individual with cancer.

A cancer survivor explains how he had to flip the script and become a caregiver for his wife when she was injured, and how it affected him.

The Cancer Support Community’s Cancer Experience Registry amplifies the voices of patients, survivors and caregivers by finding and addressing critical gaps in cancer care.

A teenager from Pennsylvania whose father died from colorectal cancer explains the impact it had on her life and how she has stepped into the field of advocacy to help others.

A mother of a breast cancer survivor explains how she pinpoints the reasoning behind why a certain day might be extra difficult emotionally for her and how she deals with it.

A nursing student describes how the day her sister was diagnosed with cancer shaped her world in many ways and caused a domino effect on her life.

The recent FDA approval of Keytruda, an immunotherapy monoclonal antibody drug, for children with melanoma is an exciting development, according to an expert. But there is potential for certain side effects that children and their family should consider before undergoing treatment.

A sister of a woman with cancer writes about how the idea of recurrence faded to the back of her mind, but now she must be realistic about the future.

An oncology social worker, who is also a cancer survivor, describes life lessons learned through work and personal experiences.

A caregiver writes a poem expressing joy over her daughter’s clean scan results after having had breast cancer in her own version of the 12 Days of Christmas.

Frail patients older than 70 years who underwent geriatric assessment and received pertinent advice related to those results were more likely to have high-quality conversations with their oncologists about age-related concerns like physical activity and cognition.

A knowledgeable and compassionate oncology nurse can make a huge different in a patient’s cancer treatment.

A woman describes the grueling experience of watching cancer attack her sister's body and wishing she could stop it.