Cancer is a disease which can develop at some point in person’s life. Here, in cancer there is an abnormal cell growth which can spread to other parts of the body. When anybody has symptoms like fatigue, weight change, skin color change, difficulty in swallowing, discomfort after eating, unexplained bleeding, muscle and joint pain, cough or trouble breathing, then he/she must visit a doctor and get tested for cancer disease. The number of cancer patient is continuously increasing around the world. There are so many people around us who support and make cancer patient strong whereas, there is an equal insensitive conversation people make with cancer patients which can be worse. When you communicate with cancer patient you must understand what to express and not because a wrong statement and information can make their difficult situation even worse. It is important to support cancer patient because when they deal with it, they not only deal with disease but even their mental health also affects. Positivity and hope is what you should provide to cancer patients. Sometimes when you are full with negative statements, cancer patients may trigger the depression, anxiety stress and fear of unknown. So if we want cancer patients to recover as soon as possible then you should give hopes and positive environment to cancer patients.
Here are certain things you never say to someone who is battling cancer and that are –
1) You should try this specific diet plan – Diet is an important factor every time and especially when you are undergoing with certain treatment. You must never recommend any specific diet to cancer patients because everyone has a different body structure. What is best for you can be worst for somebody else. Yoga and diet plan is only provided by doctors who is treating that patient.
2) I had a friend who died because of cancer – A statement like this can be a punch in a gut to someone fighting against cancer. Every cancer patient has different experience and sometime the situation can be good or bad, so you should never share such worst experience to cancer patient. Due to advance technology and early diagnosis the death rate has decreased all over the world, so it’s better not to share any kind of death news to cancer patient. No one with cancer wants to be reminded that they could die if they are diagnosed with cancer and such statements will only make them feel worse- and more frightened in the long run.
3) You don’t look sick – such comments are often said by many people to cancer patient. At the time of fever or cold when you look well is also similar for people with cancer. Not all cancer treatment causes a change in your physical appearance, so don’t make them feel worse by saying it that they don’t look sick. Such comments can affect their mental health which can be difficult to deal when dealing with cancer. If you really want to know how they are doing at the moment they just say you look good today. How are you feeling now?
4) Are you worried about your looks after treatment – Many cancer patients are concern about physical appearance because there are lot of people who keep saying such statements. Rather, it’s important not to comment and talk about physical appearance with cancer patients because the experience is far beyond words, and they are already carrying lot of pain with them at the time of treatment. So it’s better to avoid saying about change in looks.
5) At least you are dealing with good kind of cancer – There is no such good or bad kind of cancer. some cancer which are diagnosed early, can even cured easily and some takes time and are challenging to deal with. Comparison with different cancers are totally wrong. Every cancer is of different type and has different treatments involved. So such comment should be avoided.
To conclude, people with cancer need heartfelt words of support. Just be careful before you say anything to cancer patients.
