#gyncsm Community: March 2014

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Impact of Gynecologic Cancers on Caregivers & Family Members - March Chat

Last night a diverse groups of health care providers, researchers, patients, caregivers and organizations joined us for a chat about the impact of gynecologic cancers on caregivers and family members. As you can see from the questions below we looked at the the impact from both the patient's and caregiver's point of view.

T1a: Communication is key in any relationship. How did you handle sharing ur diagnosis with caregiver/family? Children?

T1b: Looking back, what might you have done differently? Your advice for those facing these tough conversations?

T2: Do you ever refrain from sharing info with your caregiver? Why/Why not?

Caregivers on this chat – we’d love to hear from you.

T3: Being a caregiver 24/7 is draining. What have you done to prevent “burn-out”?

T4: Caregivers – What do you wish you knew at the beginning? Your advice for those in the caregiver role?

T5: Survivors – What words would u share with caregivers? Caregivers – What words would u share with survivors?

T6: Let’s all share some resources that are out there for caregivers and our thoughts on this subject.

To see the responses to those questions please see our transcript here.

We hope more of our readers and followers will join us on April 9, 2014 at 9pm EST for our discussion on the research presented at the Society of Gynecologic Cancer Annual Meeting.

Resources shared throughout the chat and in response to T6 are listed below.

In Sickness and in Health: How to Help a Loved One with Cancer - http://www.lvhn.org/conditions_treatments/cancer/available_support/other_resources_we_provide/in_sickness_and_in_health:_how_to_help_a_loved_one_with_cancer

17 Tips for Cancer Caregivers - http://copingmag.com/cwc/index.php/article_review/article/17_tips_for_cancer_caregivers

Virtual Hospice - http://www.virtualhospice.ca/en_US/Main+Site+Navigation/Home.aspx

Caring for the Caregiver Toolbox (audio & pdf) - http://www.canceradvocacy.org/resources/cancer-survival-toolbox/special-topics/caring-for-the-caregiver/

ACS Survivorship Facts & Figures - http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-033876.pdf

About Reimagine University (skill building for patients and their loved ones) - http://youtu.be/nz4YZy8kSoY

Four Steps to Being a Healthier Caregiver - http://meals-to-heal.com/blog/4-steps-to-being-a-healthier-caregiver/

CancerCare's caregiving resource page - http://www.cancercare.org/tagged/caregiving

National Ovarian Cancer Coalition's caregiving resource page - http://www.ovarian.org/caregivers_what_you_can_do.php

Task Rabbit - https://www.taskrabbit.com/

Caring Bridge - http://www.caringbridge.org/

Lotsa Helping Hands - http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/