Family dynamics

Cancer, at any stage, will affect the entire family. The most important thing you can do is communicate together to help you cope with changes and challenges. Make a valiant effort to not spend your time worrying about your family worrying about you. You need all of your energy to manage your health.

Dealing with the diagnosis for the entire family

• Decide who will be the primary caregivers.

• Seek comfort from other family members and friends.

• Assign roles to family members and friends so there is a clear

understanding of duties.

• Communicate as best you can with one another and seek help from a

professional therapist or clergy to facilitate communication if needed.

• Learn how other parents in your situation have coped or are coping.

• Take time for yourself and find healthy ways to release your anger and

other emotions.

• Get help from community sources.

• Make sure the people-pleasers of your family take care of

themselves too.

Establish family expectations, including:

• Make the one with cancer our focus to the best of our capabilities.

• Do what we need to do to keep ourselves healthy.

• Communicate our feelings to each other/trusted friends or

a professional.

• Surround ourselves with positive and supportive people and

utilize resources.

• Try our best to adjust to the new roles and help support each other.

• Respect and do not try to change each other’s coping mechanisms and

communication styles (unless they are detrimental.)

• Apologize if we take out our frustrations about the situation on

each other.

• Forgive anyone who doesn’t adhere to these rules and keep focusing

on the one living with cancer.