Tag Archives: cancer caregivers

Coping and Living Well After A Cancer Diagnosis

When you receive a diagnosis of cancer, your mental and emotional adjustment can make a difference during your course of immuno oncology treatment. Unfortunately, most people have no frame of reference for coping with such news.

The American Cancer Society offers helpful tips for coming to terms with a cancer diagnosis and continuing to live life to the fullest.

Follow Your Own Path

Your situation is unique. Others may offer ideas of what has worked for them, but don’t feel obligated to follow them to the letter. View these tips as suggestions and try out different methods to find your own best solution.

Learn About Your Cancer

Knowledge is power. The unknown is often more frightening than the reality, so take time to educate yourself about your type of cancer and the various treatment options that are available.

Stay Active

The link between exercise and mood is well-documented. Physical activity stimulates production of endorphins, which are natural mood elevators. Consult with your doctor to make sure you’re not overdoing it.

Let Your Feelings Out

Many people believe that fear, anger and other negative emotions must remain hidden, but that can make your situation even harder to bear. Talk to friends and family, join a support group or try an artistic outlet such as writing or painting.

Be Kind to Yourself

Make a point each day of doing something that makes you happy, whether it’s meeting a friend for lunch or simply meditating for 15 minutes.

Issels®: Immuno Oncology Personally Created for You

Our non-toxic immunotherapy programs are individually designed to meet your specific needs. Contact us to learn more about the Issels Cancer Treatment.

Cancer Patients Can Benefit From Hands-On Therapies

If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, “the human touch” is more than just a figure of speech. Hands-on therapies can help reduce stress, boost your spirits, and reduce physical pain.

How “Healing Hands” Boost the Fight against Cancer

There is scientific research to back up the positive claims of touch therapy. One widely publicized study involved a group of married women who were threatened with a mild electric shock, but their anxiety levels dropped instantly with a touch from their husbands’ hands.

Chronic stress and depression inhibit your body’s immune system, making it more vulnerable to invading cancer cells. Touch therapy can improve your overall wellness so you’re better equipped to fight the disease.

3 Popular Touch Therapy Techniques:

  • Body psychotherapy goes beyond talk therapy, helping you tune in to bodily sensations that uncover deep emotional traumas. Methods focus on various elements such as muscle contraction, breathing and posture.
  • Physical therapy addresses pain and limited movement in muscles, joints and other tissues. According to one study, women who had undergone breast cancer surgery and worked with a physical therapist had less pain and better quality of life than others who exercised on their own.
  • Massage therapy may seem like a luxury, but it actually triggers brain activity that increases serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical, and reduces the stress hormone cortisol.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: An Integrative Approach

At Issels®, our innovative immunotherapy for cancer uses a comprehensive mind-body approach to attack cancer cells while restoring your natural immune response. Visit our website for more information about our non-toxic, personally tailored treatment programs.

Find Out What to Expect When You Become a Cancer Caregiver

Improving the Lives of Others Can Help Improve Your Own Life.
Improving the Lives of Others Can Help Improve Your Own Life.

Has a loved one recently been diagnosed with cancer? Assuming the responsibilities of becoming a caregiver can seem overwhelming. Here are some cancer caregiver tips that will help you to better perform your role while maintaining your own physical and mental well-being.

Caring for a Cancer Patient

• The caregiver role is fluid. Duties can change based on factors such as where a patient is in the treatment process and whether he or she is staying in a hospital or at home.

• Caregivers are vital members of a patient’s healthcare team. Meet with the doctors frequently and don’t be afraid to speak up if you have questions or need more clarification.

• Talk to your loved one about how much they want to share with friends and family members and keep others updated accordingly.

• Everyone has their own way of coping with illness. Be available, but respect the patient’s wishes if he or she wants to be alone or doesn’t want to talk.

Caring for the Caregiver

Caregiver is a rewarding role, but the road can be bumpy. Don’t feel guilty if you experience sadness, fatigue or grief. Joining a support group, either in person or online, can be a great source of strength.

• Have some friends or family members who can assist or even take over temporarily if you need a break.

• Plan activities such as workouts or movie outings that will help you maintain balance.

Issels® Is a Resource for Patients and Caregivers

Visit our website for more cancer caregiver tips as well as information about our personally created immunotherapy treatment programs, including cancer vaccines and NK cells.

New to Cancer Caregiving? Not Sure What to Do?

New to Cancer Caregiving?
New to Cancer Caregiving?

If you’re not careful, becoming a cancer caregiver can become one of the most stressful experiences of your life. However, it doesn’t always have to turn out that way. What might have been a frustrating time can become one of the most rewarding times you have ever experienced. Here at Issels®, we want nothing more than to equip you for what lies ahead. To do that, we want to provide you with some essential cancer caregiver tips.

What to Expect as a Caregiver for Someone with Cancer

If you’re caring for someone with cancer, it’s important to know what you can expect. Many people find it to be a pleasant experience. Spouses, siblings and other close relatives often find themselves as caregivers for family members with cancer. However, others may fill this role too. For example, neighbors and even co-workers can also be cancer caregivers.

On the other hand, you may feel as though this role is being forced upon you. It might not be something you’re willing to take on, so it’s important for you to be clear about your boundaries from the very beginning.

The Best Cancer Caregiver Tips

As a caregiver, you need to set healthy boundaries and take care of yourself too. These cancer caregiver tips will help you to do that. You should always:

• Look for signs of depression within yourself

• Find your own support system

• Get plenty of exercise

• Eat a health diet

• Consider getting personal counseling

• Take some time for yourself

At Issels®, we take care of our patients’ caregivers too. If you need more information about our immunotherapy services, please contact us.

Tips for Young Adults on Caring for a Parent with Cancer

Group of college students leaning on banister
Young Adults Can Help Parents When They Have Cancer.

Young adulthood is an exciting time of establishing independence, starting a career and finding romance. Becoming a caregiver for a parent with cancer is a major responsibility that may curtail some of these activities, but it can also strengthen your familial bond.

Here are some tips for finding balance between your caregiver role and your personal life.

  • Set aside time when you can sit down and talk to your parent without being rushed or interrupted. Discuss their medical wishes, including possible alternative cancer treatments. Establish plans for financial management, care visits and any other pertinent issues.
  • After the discussion, use the information to create a master task list. Enlist the support of siblings, family members and close friends to help out where needed.
  • Schedule a meeting with your parent’s health care team to get the facts about your parent’s illness. He or she should be present as well to approve release of protected medical information.
  • Make sure your contact information is kept in your parent’s file. You should also keep a list of doctors, pharmacists and anyone else involved in your parent’s treatment.
  • Don’t feel obligated to give up your personal life. Spending time with friends and participating in your favorite activities reduces your stress level, allowing you to be a better caregiver.
  • Join a support group to get encouragement and advice from others who are or have been in your shoes.

The non-toxic alternative cancer treatments at Issels® focus on harnessing the body’s natural immune response to fight cancer. If you, your parent or another loved one has been diagnosed with cancer, contact us for more information.

Caregiving: Your Role in Their Recovery Makes a Difference

Happy family having fun outdoors in spring field against blue sky background
Let Others Help You While You Battle Cancer

If you are a caregiver for a patient who is in treatment for cancer, it can literally be a full-time job. The American Cancer Society quotes a study that shows more than 50 percent of cancer caregivers spend upwards of eight hours a day tending to the needs of their loved one.

Caretaking is most effective when you are at your best mentally and physically, but it’s easy to neglect your own needs in an effort to meet those of the patient. Use these helpful tips to maintain your own health and quality of life.

Schedule time for yourself

What activities relax you and renew your spirit? Whether it is exercise, reading, painting or any other pastime, plan time to enjoy simple pleasures in your schedule just like an appointment. Include activities that involve contact with others so you don’t feel isolated.

Seek individual and group support

No matter what emotions you are feeling, others have been through it as well. Contact the American Cancer Society or talk to healthcare workers about joining a support group for cancer caregivers. If you have outside employment, check your benefits to see if they include an Employee Assistance Plan or other provisions for individual counseling.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

You’re not weak if you can’t do it all on your own. The demands placed on cancer caregivers are a challenge for even the strongest person. Keep your family and loved ones in the loop and ask for help when you need it.

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