Maggie's blog

If you are looking after someone with cancer then it is vital that you also look after yourself. We know that caring for someone with cancer can be all-consuming, taking all your time, energy and mental capacity, but if you aren’t caring for yourself then you won’t be able to care for them.

We know that sometimes caring for someone with cancer can creep up on you. Your relationship can change so slowly that you might not realise how much caring for that person has taken over your life.

Here are some tips on what not to say when speaking to people who are caring for someone with cancer.

If someone you know is looking after someone with cancer, it’s likely they’re not looking after themselves.

When someone you love is diagnosed with cancer it can be a minefield knowing what to say and what not to say. You want to help but you may also be experiencing fear, sadness and confusion yourself. We've put together some advice we hope you find useful.

When someone you love is diagnosed with cancer, your first instinct will be to want to help in some way and show them you care. But it can be hard to know how best to support them and choosing a gift can feel like a minefield.

People can be reluctant to go to their GP for many reasons. Fear is the obvious and most understandable, but we know that the famous British ‘stiff upper lip’ can also keep people from getting checked out.

Our relationship with colleagues in the NHS has never been more important

The easing of restrictions will be welcomed by many. A return to something like normal after a turbulent and challenging 18 months.

Politicians and health professionals are now beginning to understand that when it comes to getting people to change their behaviour for the sake of their own health, lectures and dictates are not hugely effective.

Collecting medication, cooking a meal, or driving someone to an appointment are all acts of caring. However, many people who do these kinds of things for someone close to them living with cancer do not consider themselves to be carers.

Recently we ran a webinar to give employers the tools they need to support employees as they look towards returning to the workplace. The insights were very revealing.

At Maggie's we are careful with the language we use. We don't want people to feel that cancer defines you as a person, so we talk about the people who come into our centres simply as 'people’ or ‘visitors', rather than cancer patients. We also avoid using words like 'terminal' and 'prognosis', which our research has told us are among those least liked by the people who visit our centres.

There is no question that coronavirus has affected all of our lives, but the impact of the pandemic on people with cancer is often forgotten, traumatic and I fear will be felt for many years to come.

The pressures on a person with cancer are endless and treatment options are often the most daunting, you are suddenly thrown into a new world, where you're expected to understand medical language and make life-changing decisions at a time when you are at your most vulnerable.

For 25 years I’ve been at the helm of Maggie’s as we’ve designed, built and run cancer centres across the UK and abroad. We have worked with some of the best architects in the world to design our centres because we know that light, colour and a connection to nature can help people to feel better.

Sleep difficulties often start or are increased with a diagnosis of cancer, side effects and treatment. These practical tips and advice from our Merseyside workshop may help.

Cancer and its treatment can cause problems with your normal sleeping patterns. Here, we answer just a few of your questions about how to cope when sleep is disturbed.

We're all now more hopeful that in the weeks and months to come lockdown will be lifted and restrictions eased. But if you're living alone and still shielding you may be feeling isolated. We asked our Psychologist, Cara, to answer some of your questions about how to make living alone during the pandemic that little bit easier.

Ways to cope when you're told your treatment is delayed because of coronavirus.