Balancing work and caregiving options can be stressful, even if you've already taken advantage of resources in your community, such as hot meal programs or hospital-based support groups.
As a working caregiver, however, you can also access what has become a growing array of options provided by your employer, either directly at the job site or from outside resources that provide services on a contract basis.
Acknowledging your role
First, however, you might have to acknowledge and accept your caregiving role. Sounds obvious, but researchers say many who provide hours of care to loved ones recovering from cancer or other ailments don't identify themselves as a caregiver. If you provide ongoing help to someone with cancer — driving them to appointments, listening to their input on treatment options to help them decide, supporting them emotionally — you're definitely a caregiver.
The number of hours a week you put in caregiving doesn't define you as a caregiver. No matter how many or how few hours you put in in a given week — and it can vary greatly if you are taking care of a loved one with cancer — it can be mentally and physically exhausting, especially when you are also holding down a fulltime job.
In fact, a caregiving schedule that varies greatly week by week and is unpredictable, while sometimes giving you a break, can also be stressful since it can make it difficult to plan your work obligations and your social life around the caregiving tasks.
You are probably spending more hours than you think in your caregiving role. According to a survey of 750 cancer caregivers who participated in a University of Pennsylvania Family Caregiver Cancer Education Program, 36 percent said their caregiving duties required more than 40 hours a week. (Other interesting findings from that survey: 82 percent of those surveyed were women; 54 percent live with the loved one for whom they are caring and 35 percent said they feel overwhelmed by the role. (For more caregiving statistics, please visit Strength for Caring).
