Support for People Who Care

If you live with or care about a person facing melanoma, you also face many challenges. By choice or by chance, you are a "caregiver." One writer even said that just one person doesn't get cancer, a whole family does. Roles and routines change. Work life, home life, even living arrangements may all change.

You deserve help and support too.

Family can mean many different things, and so can caregiver.

Who is a caregiver? There are many different types, for example:

• a spouse or partner who offers day-to-day care
• a friend who brings meals, runs errands, or offers rides to and from doctor's appointments
• a nearby relative who helps with childcare or steps in to help with household needs
• a friend or relative who calls regularly just to listen sympathetically, even if they're far away
• an adult child who now cares for a parent
• a teenager who takes a much bigger role in household chores and responsibilities

No matter what kind of caregiver you are, it's easy to push aside your own needs or feelings because your loved one "comes first." In the long run, that's not good for you or the person with melanoma.

Here are some things that can help you and your loved one:

• Learn as much as you can about melanoma and its treatment
• Know what to expect
• Build your own team of supporters who can help you
• Find ways to care for yourself
• Recognize and talk about your own feelings