Q: Now that my mother has been diagnosed with cancer, what should be our next steps to help her get through this?
A: Besides giving her emotional comfort and support, one of the best ways you can help your mom is to give her a sense of control over the treatments she’ll receive and the decisions she will need to make. Here’s how:
Give her knowledge. The uncertainty of cancer and the vast array of information available today may truly overwhelm her. Yet, understanding her cancer and how various treatments can work for her are absolutely essential to her mental well being. If she has always been a passive patient rarely asking her physician questions, then go with her to appointments and beforehand, both of you should prepare a list of questions together. Ask her doctor for any materials that he or she shares with patients about the cancer. If your mom benefits from visual displays, ask her physician to show her illustrations or videos that describe her cancer in an easy to understand format.
Do the research. There is a great deal of information available on the internet which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Always find out who is sponsoring the web site by going to the “About Us” navigation bar to determine if it is sponsored by a group that has something to gain from what it recommends. For instance, a number of drug companies sponsor very good educational sites but you need to keep in mind that they benefit from the drugs they recommend for treatment. Sites with a .com at the end of their name are commercial businesses, whereas those with .edu are academic and educational institutions. Those with .org are usually non-profit organizations and association while .gov are government-sponsored sites. Here are some tried and true web sites to get you started:
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
www.cancer.org. This web site should be your first stop on your internet cancer tour. You’ll find a wealth of information on cancer and a great deal of resources that you can download or link to for further assistance. They also offer a searchable database of local support services and a “Cancer Survivors Network” community.
