Part 1: The importance of carers

It may be helpful to map out who might be involved in supporting you while you are undergoing cancer treatment, and beyond. See below an example of a caregiving team built by Lucy, a woman with Stage II Breast Cancer.

Example: Lucy’s caregiving team

Lucy has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is divorced with two adult children.

Our caregiving team

Primary carer / main support person:

• Lucy’s son, Andrew attends most appointments and helps Lucy with researching treatments, making appointments, and arranges transport for Lucy when she has treatment.

Close support people:

• Lucy’s daughter Zoe (who lives 2 hours away) attends appointments when Andrew is away and sometimes accompanies Lucy to chemotherapy sessions.
• Lucy’s sister Harriet stays at Lucy’s house after she has had chemotherapy to help

Other family / friends who can offer support:

• Lucy’s nieces and nephews check in on Lucy from time to time. Lucy’s colleagues A few colleagues from Lucy’s work check in on her every week or so, and sometimes visit and keep her company.
• Neighbours Lucy’s next-door neighbor collected Lucy’s mail and feed her cat when Lucy had to stay in hospital after her surgery.
• Tennis club Friends from Lucy’s tennis club have made a meal roster and drop in on weekends with home-made meals when Lucy is undergoing treatment.

Your caregiving team

Have a think about who currently is, or could be, a part of your caregiving team. Your primary support person will be placed at the core. Add other members to the team by filling in the table below.

It is important to note that some people are reluctant to include many people in their caregiving team. Karen, who was diagnosed with rectal cancer, recalls “At first, I thought I should do everything myself. Or at least, only have Tony my husband helping me. But I realised there were people who really wanted to help, and it made them feel good by helping. So I let them”.

Ultimately, it is up to you who you want included in your support team. It’s perfectly okay to have one or two support people, rather than a big group, if that is what you prefer.