{"id":3267,"date":"2016-06-02T15:28:16","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T14:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=3267"},"modified":"2016-06-02T15:28:16","modified_gmt":"2016-06-02T14:28:16","slug":"5-ways-make-difference-someone-living-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/education-languages-health\/health\/5-ways-make-difference-someone-living-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"5 ways to make a difference to someone living with cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two and a half million people are living with cancer in Britain. But what is the impact on a patient once they receive the diagnosis and how do they, and their families and friends, cope with everything the disease then throws at them?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.open.edu\/openlearn\/whats-on\/tv\/the-big-c-me\"><em>The Big C and Me<\/em><\/a> is a BBC\/Open University co-production delving into the lives of cancer patients and bringing their personal \u2013 and very moving \u2013 stories into the viewer\u2019s home. \u00a0It&#8217;s a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/iplayer\/episode\/b07dxwc5\/the-big-c-me-episode-1\">three-part series<\/a> which enters the personal world of cancer patients and their families encountering different stages of their cancer journey.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/people\/jd6477\">Professor of Nursing Jan Draper<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/people\/ml8646\">Dr Mathijs Lucassen<\/a>, a Lecturer in Mental Health, were both involved in the series and produced a booklet to accompany it, aimed at helping to support people living with cancer.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/player.open.ac.uk\/embed\/2fc181010d\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here are five ways you can help make a difference to people living with cancer\u2026<\/p>\n<h2>1) Be yourself<\/h2>\n<p>People find it hard to find the words when someone they know is diagnosed with cancer, says Professor Draper, but for most cancer patients they want to be treated normally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving cancer can be really life changing but a lot of people we talked to just wanted to be treated normally. Obviously, recognise there is important stuff going on but treat them as you usually would, and be yourself,\u201d she says. \u201cIf the person is someone you have humorous banter with, then continue to do that, but be sensitive and if you get it wrong, hold your hands up and say you got it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>2) Little things have a big impact<\/h2>\n<p>When someone is ill \u2013 even if they don\u2019t look ill \u2013 then small offers of help can go a long way. \u201cSome of the practical elements make a real difference, for example, taking a meal round, doing the shopping, helping to take the children to school,\u201d says Professor Draper.<\/p>\n<p>Practical support, no matter how trivial it may seem, can really help when someone is ill and tired and trying to juggle everyday tasks and normal family life while dealing with a potentially life-changing illness, she adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven popping round with flowers or a cake could mean a lot. It sounds obvious but we\u2019re always touched by little acts of kindness which show someone has been thinking of you; that can mean a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr Lucassen added: \u201cLots of people we talked to spoke about the value of cards and how meaningful it was to receive them. People saying \u2018you\u2019re in my thoughts, you\u2019re in my prayers, I\u2019m thinking of you\u2019. It meant a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The booklet also discusses alternative ways of communicating because receiving phone calls and visitors can get tiring: it could be a card, a text message, a bunch of flowers or an email.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne friend emailed me with silly jokes, it was her way of saying she\u2019s thinking of me,\u201d said one contributor to the booklet.<\/p>\n<h2>3) Volunteer your time<\/h2>\n<p>Whether or not you know someone directly affected by cancer or not, there are still ways to help make a difference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many people put their skills and energy into helping others and it\u2019s about getting the right mix between the volunteer and what\u2019s available locally, so start by getting in touch with charities,\u201d says Dr Lucassen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn writing the booklet about support for those dealing with cancer, it became apparent that the elephant in the room was death. So for some people it\u2019s not just about adjusting to living with cancer but dying with cancer too. Local hospices reply on support, so they also recruit volunteers. There\u2019s a whole range of things from flower arranging to occupational therapy-type roles and more patient-facing roles,\u201d adds Professor Draper. \u201cAnd there\u2019s always fundraising too.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>4) Talk, but don\u2019t forget to listen<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cOne of the key themes that came up during discussions with people was the importance of really listening; it\u2019s not about having to give advice or offer solutions. You don\u2019t have to feel like you have all the answers, just being able to listen is important to people with cancer,\u201d says Dr Lucassen.<\/p>\n<p>Provide opportunities to talk and show you\u2019re really listening with your body language, sometimes the chance to express what\u2019s on your mind is enough to lift a burden. Asking open questions like \u201chow are you today?\u201d gives someone the opportunity to talk about the cancer, or not.<\/p>\n<p><em>In this video, OU graduate Deanne talks about supporting cancer patients and working in a hospice&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/player.open.ac.uk\/embed\/72c10bc12f\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>5) Be in it for the long haul<\/h2>\n<p>Coping with cancer goes beyond initial diagnosis and starting treatment, it can last months or even years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s easy to forget the endurance of it all,\u201d says Dr Lucassen, who says it\u2019s important to be aware of the continuing challenges over a longer period for people dealing with cancer. And it won\u2019t always be obvious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople living with cancer can actually look very well so you can make assumptions that aren\u2019t correct. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned personally from my own experiences with cancer,\u201d added Professor Draper.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Find out more:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>You can find out more about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.open.edu\/openlearn\/whats-on\/tv\/the-big-c-me\">The Big C and Me on OpenLearn<\/a>, including access to free health and social care courses and video interviews with OU graduates who work with cancer patients<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.open.edu\/openlearn\/whats-on\/tv\/the-big-c-me#booklet\">Order your copy of the booklet<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ounews.co\/around-ou\/tv-radio\/academic-supporting-tv-series\/\">Find out how Jan and Mathijs were involved in the TV series<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two and a half million people are living with cancer in Britain. But what is the impact on a patient once they receive the diagnosis and how do they, and their families and friends, cope with everything the disease then throws at them? The Big C and Me is a BBC\/Open University co-production delving into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[232,349,1043,1192,1393,1415,2197,2278],"class_list":["post-3267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-bbc","tag-cancer","tag-health-and-social-care","tag-jan-draper","tag-mathijs-lucassen","tag-mental-health","tag-the-big-c-and-me","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}