Honoring Cancer Caregivers on National Caregivers’ Day

In honor of National Caregivers’ Day on Feb. 17, CURE® looked back at some of our popular content about cancer caregivers — from firsthand stories about how couples navigated a cancer diagnosis (or multiple), to research about the psychological risks of cancer caregiving and words of thanks from survivors.

Cancer Caregiving Is Like a ‘Full-Time Job,’ But One Couple Made It Work — Both Ways

When Rickey and Marla Briskman met in 2001, Marla had a mantle cell lymphoma diagnosis, which relapsed multiple times between 2004 and 2010. Then, in 2015, Rickey received a follicular lymphoma diagnosis before his wife was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome. So, the couple knows what it’s like to go through cancer together — and how it feels to be both the patient and caregiver.

Was I a Good Enough Cancer Caregiver?

CURE® contributor Mark Hicks was the caregiver to his late wife, who died of breast cancer. When she was going through treatment, he researched her disease and the therapies to treat it, but was still left wondering, “did I do enough?” However, when he reflected on the experience and noted that he did everything in his power to find the good moments in each day, he knew that he was enough.

'A Village of People’ May Help Cancer Caregivers Balance Everyday Life

Being a parent to young children compounded the already difficult task of being a caregiver for a patient with ocular melanoma, explained Caitlyn Stewart, whose husband was diagnosed with the rare cancer in 2016. But thankfully, a village of others with the disease helped the couple get through it.

Share the Love: Cancer Survivors Offer Thanks to Those Who Helped Them Most

In a recent #CUREConnect post, we asked our audience to thank those who helped them through their cancer experience. So many people wrote about their caregivers and the difference they made through an extremely difficult time. “My husband who stood by side throughout. (He) went to every appointment, every surgery, every procedure. Always told me I was beautiful… even when I was extremely sick and bald. He’s my supporter and my best friend,” one survivor wrote.

Caring for Spouse with Cancer May Increase Caretakers’ Risk for Anxiety, Depression and Other Psychiatric Disorders

Recent research showed that individuals who are caring for their spouses with cancer may have an increased risk of anxiety, depression and other psychiatric disorders, highlighting the importance of caregivers seeking mental health help, if needed, the researchers noted.

Find more news and blogs on CURE®s’s Cancer Caregiving page.