| Having a family member, friend or co-worker | | | | |
| battle against cancer is one of the hardest | | | | Taking care of the family of the one getting |
| and worst realities in life. No one likes to | | | | cancer treatment is one of the most helpful |
| help someone deal with cancer, but at some | | | | things you can do, especially when there are |
| point almost all of us will have the | | | | children involved. Offer to take the children |
| opportunity to walk beside someone we care | | | | to school and pick them up, or invite the |
| about through one of the most difficult times | | | | kids over to your house for frequent |
| of their life: cancer treatment. | | | | sleepovers during the cancer treatment. It |
| | | | will be good for the parents and good for the |
| I have had the privilege (and I do mean | | | | kids to be separated during such a hard time. |
| privilege) of helping out both of my parents | | | | Involve the kids in doing something special |
| and one of my closest friends during their | | | | for their parent who is in cancer treatment. |
| weeks and months of cancer treatments. At | | | | Take the kids to a boutique that allows you |
| first I was quite intimidated and unsure of | | | | to paint your own pottery, for example. Help |
| how to help in such serious and | | | | the kids make something memorable for their |
| life-threatening situations. I thought | | | | loved one. You can do simple things for the |
| because I didn't know the perfect things to | | | | family of someone who is in cancer treatment |
| do that I couldn't do anything at all. Was I | | | | like go grocery shopping, prepare meals or |
| wrong. | | | | take their family out to special meals. |
| | | | |
| Some of the best ways to help out a friend or | | | | Far too often people think that helping out |
| loved one as their undergo cancer treatment | | | | during a time of crisis such as cancer |
| is in the most practical ways. Don't look | | | | treatment that they have to do extraordinary |
| past how helpful cleaning their bathrooms, | | | | things. The truth is that it is the ordinary |
| doing their dishes, or collecting their | | | | things that need to happen long before |
| garbage can be. It is an amazing thing to get | | | | anything else will be helpful. There is no |
| down and dirty on behalf of someone else. | | | | doubt that dealing with cancer or undergoing |
| Look around and simply see what needs to be | | | | cancer treatment is extremely hard. But the |
| done. Mow their lawn, plant some fresh | | | | support and help of friends and families can |
| flowers, or get their car cleaned on the | | | | make even the worst things in life better. |
| inside and out. | | | | |