Finding Balance During Tough Times

Cancer diagnosis in your loved ones can be challenging to accept and apprehend. It can bring shockwaves disrupting lives, work and relationships. The outpouring of support patients and their families get in the initial stage may drop off in case of long treatments.

Networking with cancer support in Australia may help the patient to deal with pain better. A sound support system improves cancer outcomes and can help lift the spirits of families and patients.

Australia has a large number of cancer patients. As of 2021, close to 150,782 cancer cases have been diagnosed in Australia. The article discusses how patients, family, and friends can help by bringing small changes in their lifestyles.

Strive for better health

People should always keep themselves active and eat healthy food. After detecting cancer, many people bring changes in their lifestyle.

A healthy body not only stays fit for years but also reduces the chances of cancer returning. Following changes in different spheres of daily life can help beat cancer:

Nutrition

Cancer type and stage change your diet, which needs to be constantly adjusted. You may receive a different diet with the treatment and its effects on your body. No proven food can cure cancer.

Good nutrition during cancer treatment can help lead a quality life, improve tolerance, increase body mass preservation, and build a robust immune system.

Exercising

Staying active during the treatment can bring significant positive effects on your body during treatment. It helps improve strength, mental outlook, fatigue etc. Take suggestions from your doctor regarding how much to exercise and when.

A few activities which you can do are:

• Swimming, dancing, and walking to build endurance
• Resistance bands, lifting for strength
• Yoga for stretching and flexibility

Relaxation and massage

Massage and relaxation, integrative therapies, help a person battling cancer feel better. These therapies can complement cancer treatment and heal a person spiritually, emotionally and physically.

These therapies help in the following ways:

• Focus on positive outcomes and healing
• Less fatigued body
• Sense of control
• It helps a person find balance during the stressful time
• Relaxation from pain or nausea

Music therapy

Music therapies can include singing or listening to music. This kind of therapy helps the person by ensuring individualised relaxation. It helps patients relax better before or after the treatment sessions.

Music helps deal with the emotional imbalance and allows you to share feelings which may be hard sometimes due to pain. Following are more ways in which this therapy can help:

• Reduce anxiety
• It helps in expressing emotions
• Manages pain and stress
• Lift your spirits
• Creates a healing environment

Ask friends and family for help

Cancer affects the person mentally, physically and emotionally. It is a hard time for friends and family as they try to maintain balance in such stressful times. It can get lonely and challenging many times during the treatment process.

Here are the following ways you can connect and stick with the patient:

• Driving patients to appointments can give them support. If there are long treatments, staying with them can help. You can also help in noting important information provided by doctors.
• Children whose parents are undergoing treatment may feel alone. You can offer to drop them off at school or involve them in activities to distract them.
• Cancer drains a person’s body and makes it weak. You can help with running errands such as cooking, cleaning etc.
• Spend time with the patients to understand how they are feeling.

Summing up

Cancer can be exhausting for the patient at times. It is crucial to keep your spirits uplifted to battle the disease better. You can also join cancer support in Australia, where you will find similar people battling the disease. These agencies offer support in all ways possible. Other patients, carers, and support groups come together to offer help. This can be telephonic, personal, or online, providing the needed support and collaborative approach.

Knowing that patients are not alone during these challenging times is vital. Reaching out to them will help them understand your needs. When a patient joins a support group, it becomes less burdensome, and the possibility of going through the therapy becomes less stressful.