Keep Us Informed

Once word got out that my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and had to go through chemo, there were a lot of phone calls and emails sent and answered.

We tried to keep everyone informed and reassure them that we were doing fine and how things were progressing. Thank the Lord for email!

Sometimes when you tell people that someone is ill, they create this mental picture that is not particularly accurate. With cancer, I think sometimes people just assume the worse case scenario.

Even though I would tell people that my mom was doing well and making great strides recovering for surgery and that we were ready to face chemo, I found that it really helped if we sent photos.

Incase you can’t read her my mom’s t-shirt, it says “my oncologist is better than your oncologist.” …and this was a week post-op – the woman is a cancer fighting beast!














Helpful Hint:
Family and friends are concerned but sometimes they won’t contact you because they feel they are being intrusive. During this time it might be difficult to respond to each and every inquiry, so you will have to get a little creative. If you can, set aside an hour a day to write an email update or blog that you send to family and friends – it helps keep them informed and can assist in alleviating some of their worries. If you can not to it yourself, have someone do it for you. People want to help during this stressful time – let them. Have them email updates or make phone calls that be structured like one of those tree calling systems. That way, no one person has to do it all …and include photos if you can.