EILEEN ADLER

Reading an article with this title caught my eye immediately. Do we have Plan B?

What Happens When the Cancer Caregiver Needs a Caregiver? (curetoday.com)

During the care for her sick brother, the caregiver recognized the toll on her mental state, all the while dealing with her own cancer diagnosis. To make this more difficult, she lived in Minnesota and her brother lived in Arizona. It’s heartbreaking to go through your own suffering, but watching a loved one failing can leave the caregiver feeling drained, emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Christine Vinci is the principal investigator of COMPASS, a study funded by the National Cancer Institute, confirms what most of us know to be true: from the literature caregivers are often reporting really high levels of stress, distress, and anxiety.
 

“If the lifeguard goes down, everybody goes down,”

said Gregory Blake, a resident in counseling for the Cancer Hope Network.

Often caregivers think they are fine,

that they’ve got this, but all too often that’s just not the case.

Self-care has been defined as "a multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.”
 

Life Lesson:
Don’t forget to schedule “me” time and guard that time with everything you have.

Ditch the guilt! Self-care if self-survival.