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1. Caring for the Carer - Counselling for Caregivers
A caregiver is anyonewho plays a direct role in helping a patient manage the disease, sideeffects or
symptoms. In any family, not everyoneis the caregiver. The individual who is primarily responsiblefor
the patient is the caregiver.
Owing to the intensity & morbidity of cancer treatment, cancer has a huge emotional impact on
caregivers too. If the caregiver is not taken care of, apart fromthe effect it has on the caregiver’s
mental health, the quality of care they provide also gets disturbed.
The problems that the patient faces & thoseassociated with a caregiver are different.
• Changeis day-to-day role:
Often, cancer treatment is time consuming and requires regular outpatient visits to the hospitals in
case treatment plan includes chemotherapy & radiation. So, this effectively changes the caregiver’s
day-to-day routinesince it has to be planned around the patients’ needs outside & within home.
• Partof medical decisions:
Caregivers haveto be part of certain treatment-related decision-making, which often puts a lot of
pressureon them.
• Financial concerns:
As we have discussed many times in the past, cancer treatment is very expensive. More often, it is the
caregiver’s responsibility to make arrangements for the required funds for treatment.
• Physicalsupportto patient:
Sometimes, based on the stage & method of treatment, the patient might need physicalsupport,
which is also provided by the caregiver. For example, if the patient is on a wheelchair, carrying the
patient fromthe wheelchair to the bed, every day, could take a large physicaltoll on the caregiver.
• Social concerns:
Cancer changes the way one interacts in socialsituations. Since such a large partof the caregiver’s life
revolves around the patient’s cancer, social relationships are affected. They go through questions such
as who do I reveal details of the cancer to? Should I tell my neighbours aboutit?

2. • Emotional distress:
Caregivers often go through a lot of guilt while looking at the patient going through treatment
constantly questioning why they were being put through such hardships.
These could have a huge impact, physically & emotionally on the caregiver. The caregiver could get
highly stressed & anxious thereby impacting their day-to-day performance. So, clearly caregivers also
need support.
Psychotherapists help them acknowledgetheir own feelings and need for support. Often with focus on
the patient, the caregiver is ignored. A counsellor helps in paying attention to these issues.
Generally, the same psychotherapistcould help the patient & the caregiver.
Benefits of counselling for caregivers:
• Quality of care for the patient improves
• Caregivers areable to deal with lifestyle changes better
• In the unfortunateevent of the treatment not being successful, counsellors could help deal with
issues of depression
If u know someonegoing through this, do not hesitate to reach out to a counsellor for support.