[MUSIC PLAYING]
TRACY MCELVEEN, MD: Having
support during your cancer
treatment process is extremely
important.
Not only is it a second pair
of ears at the consultation
to process all the information
that's given, but it's also
somebody who can help provide
emotional support and then
physical support.
Family and friends are often
jumping at the bit
with what can they do to help.
If patients can really think
about what it is that would be
helpful, they can delegate
those tasks to that support
system.
That might be contacting family
and friends and giving updates.
It might be handling refills
of medications.
It might be cooking meals
or doing the grocery shopping,
folding a load of laundry,
taking the kids
for an afternoon.
There's a lot of things
that people do
on a day-to-day basis that could
be done by someone else.
You just have to ask.
It's harder to get
through this process alone.
So trying to find a support
system, whether it's
through an organization
or whether it's
through a hospital navigator
or patient-to-patient set up
that you can just have somebody
to talk to who's been
through it, but having somebody
to walk through the process
and the journey with you
is recommended.
