Psychological and Social Impact
Psychological impact
Looking after someone with cancer is stressful and it can arouse strong emotions including resentment, fear, depression, anger, frustration, loneliness and guilt. It is important to acknowledge these feelings and to accept that there is nothing shameful about them. Then it's important to deal with them, because if you don't you will be unable to care effectively and may become ill yourself.
Some carers may experience feelings of hopelessness or powerlessness. A carer may spend time trying to prepare appetising meals and then the ill person feels too sick to eat them or is sick after eating the meal. The provision of food is a fundamental act of caring and eating is essential to life, so 'rejection' of a meal is worrying, disappointing and frustrating for a carer.
Social impact
Being a carer can be an isolating experience, so it's important to make sure you keep up your own social contacts and have some time to unwind and have a break from caring. Some carers find they have to give up work in order to look after a relative or friend with cancer. Others combine working with caring.
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How Best to Help
Communication
A key way in which carers can help people with cancer is the way they talk with them and listen to them.
Looking after yourself
As a carer you can also help by looking after yourself, for example giving yourself little treats to help you keep going, having a long soak in the bath after a difficult day, ensuring you have some time to yourself, meeting friends in the evening – just having a bit of a break every now and then.
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Complementary and Alternative Therapies
Complementary therapies
These are used together with conventional medicine for example using aromatherapy to help lessen a patient's discomfort after surgery, acupuncture to help with pain.
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine for example using a special diet to treat cancer instead of having surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy that has been recommended by a conventional doctor.
Choosing alternative therapies may have profound implications and any decision to opt for these therapies instead of conventional medicine must be done on an informed basis with medical advisers and consider all the facts available.
Complementary and alternative medicine
The distinction between alternative and complementary medicine is not always clear-cut and may depend on the context. Many people now use the term complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as a way of including both approaches. Defining CAM is not straightforward. The general explanation is that they are a group of therapies, practices and approaches to health care which aren't part of conventional medicine. The list of what is considered to be CAM changes as therapies proved to be safe and effective become adopted into conventional health care.
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