Your Woman Has Cancer?
Whether it's your wife, sister, or daughter, few things are more frightening than when a woman in your life is diagnosed with breast cancer.
Most men feel like they're supposed to protect their families...
to keep bad things from happening.
But breast cancer steals in and threatens everything you love.
It leaves you feeling helpless, afraid,and uncertain.
Today, I want to share with you what you can do to support the woman in your life who's struggling with breast cancer.
It's her fight, but she's not in it alone.
You already know that it's affecting everyone who cares about her, and you're ready to help.
So, here's what you can do...
Three Simple Ways to Give Her Emotional Support Sometimes we men are a little stoic.
We try to be the strong, silent type.
Now is not the time.
Take every opportunity to tell the woman in your life that you love her.
She's afraid of the struggle ahead and of what it means if she doesn't beat her cancer.
You're afraid of losing her.
Don't pass up a single chance to let her know how important she is to you.
Cancer treatment is long and difficult.
Laughter can make a big difference in her outlook and her energy levels.
There's clinical evidence that laughter relieves pain and makes the immune system work better.
(1) Pay attention to the funny things you hear and see and share them with her.
Look for jokes you know she'll appreciate, and make her giggle.
While she's going through a difficult time, you might be tempted to treat your wife like she's fragile.
She's not, though.
She can still do things for herself and go out and enjoy time with you.
Take cues from her.
If she needs you to wait on her because she's having a rough day, jump in and do whatever you can.
If she's having a good day, get out of her way and let her do for herself.
Juggling the Logistics Breast cancer treatment takes time.
There are appointments and treatments and recovery along with the daily business of living.
You can help a lot by organizing the logistics of her treatments and appointments.
Make sure she has a ride.
Whenever you can, go to her appointments with her.
Ask lots of questions while you're there so you know what to expect in the way of side effects and how you can help her manage them.
If it's your wife who has cancer, learn to say yes to the offers of help from your friends and neighbors.
Her cancer affects them, too.
They're eager to offer you comfort.
Let them.
It will make things easier for both you and your wife.
If it's your sister or grown daughter who has breast cancer, make specific offers to help.
Call and let her know you're bringing dinner over tonight.
Or when you go to the store, call and ask for a list of things you can pick up while you're there.
Breast Cancer and Intimate Relationships When your wife has breast cancer, one of her biggest fears is that she won't be attractive to you any more.
Let her know often that she has nothing to fear.
Tell her she's beautiful.
Hold her hand.
Steal a kiss.
Sex might change after breast cancer.
Recognize and embrace that.
Let her take the lead and be willing to try new things.
You'll eventually discover what works and maybe even rediscover each other while you're at it.
Natural Healing If she's interested in natural ways to fight breast cancer, here are some things to try.
Get her out into the sun.
Women with the highest levels of vitamin D in their system have better survival rates.
(2) Now is the time to let her sunbathe to her heart's content.
She should take care not to burn, but 20 minutes of direct sun exposure several times a week is a very good thing.
Flavonoids-antioxidants found in tea, wine, and produce-help to fight breast cancer.
Women with high levels of fl avonoids in their system are up to 48% less likely to succumb to their cancer.
(3) A supplement rich in a variety of fl avonoids can be very helpful.
She should take fish oil and coenzyme Q10 supplements, too.
Clinical studies show that CoQ10 can help to treat breast cancer, and fish oil improves CoQ10's absorbability.
(4) These two supplements are very safe, and they also help prevent the cancer from spreading.
When a woman you love has breast cancer, take an active role in helping her fight it.
Make her feel loved, comfortable, and strong.
The advice here can help, but most importantly, talk to her and find out what she needs and wants from you.
Discuss changes to your diet, exercise, or supplement routine with your doctor.
Next week, check back to discover why, if you're past middle age, you might be undernourished...
and what you can do about it.
Sources:
Most men feel like they're supposed to protect their families...
to keep bad things from happening.
But breast cancer steals in and threatens everything you love.
It leaves you feeling helpless, afraid,and uncertain.
Today, I want to share with you what you can do to support the woman in your life who's struggling with breast cancer.
It's her fight, but she's not in it alone.
You already know that it's affecting everyone who cares about her, and you're ready to help.
So, here's what you can do...
Three Simple Ways to Give Her Emotional Support Sometimes we men are a little stoic.
We try to be the strong, silent type.
Now is not the time.
Take every opportunity to tell the woman in your life that you love her.
She's afraid of the struggle ahead and of what it means if she doesn't beat her cancer.
You're afraid of losing her.
Don't pass up a single chance to let her know how important she is to you.
Cancer treatment is long and difficult.
Laughter can make a big difference in her outlook and her energy levels.
There's clinical evidence that laughter relieves pain and makes the immune system work better.
(1) Pay attention to the funny things you hear and see and share them with her.
Look for jokes you know she'll appreciate, and make her giggle.
While she's going through a difficult time, you might be tempted to treat your wife like she's fragile.
She's not, though.
She can still do things for herself and go out and enjoy time with you.
Take cues from her.
If she needs you to wait on her because she's having a rough day, jump in and do whatever you can.
If she's having a good day, get out of her way and let her do for herself.
Juggling the Logistics Breast cancer treatment takes time.
There are appointments and treatments and recovery along with the daily business of living.
You can help a lot by organizing the logistics of her treatments and appointments.
Make sure she has a ride.
Whenever you can, go to her appointments with her.
Ask lots of questions while you're there so you know what to expect in the way of side effects and how you can help her manage them.
If it's your wife who has cancer, learn to say yes to the offers of help from your friends and neighbors.
Her cancer affects them, too.
They're eager to offer you comfort.
Let them.
It will make things easier for both you and your wife.
If it's your sister or grown daughter who has breast cancer, make specific offers to help.
Call and let her know you're bringing dinner over tonight.
Or when you go to the store, call and ask for a list of things you can pick up while you're there.
Breast Cancer and Intimate Relationships When your wife has breast cancer, one of her biggest fears is that she won't be attractive to you any more.
Let her know often that she has nothing to fear.
Tell her she's beautiful.
Hold her hand.
Steal a kiss.
Sex might change after breast cancer.
Recognize and embrace that.
Let her take the lead and be willing to try new things.
You'll eventually discover what works and maybe even rediscover each other while you're at it.
Natural Healing If she's interested in natural ways to fight breast cancer, here are some things to try.
Get her out into the sun.
Women with the highest levels of vitamin D in their system have better survival rates.
(2) Now is the time to let her sunbathe to her heart's content.
She should take care not to burn, but 20 minutes of direct sun exposure several times a week is a very good thing.
Flavonoids-antioxidants found in tea, wine, and produce-help to fight breast cancer.
Women with high levels of fl avonoids in their system are up to 48% less likely to succumb to their cancer.
(3) A supplement rich in a variety of fl avonoids can be very helpful.
She should take fish oil and coenzyme Q10 supplements, too.
Clinical studies show that CoQ10 can help to treat breast cancer, and fish oil improves CoQ10's absorbability.
(4) These two supplements are very safe, and they also help prevent the cancer from spreading.
When a woman you love has breast cancer, take an active role in helping her fight it.
Make her feel loved, comfortable, and strong.
The advice here can help, but most importantly, talk to her and find out what she needs and wants from you.
Discuss changes to your diet, exercise, or supplement routine with your doctor.
Next week, check back to discover why, if you're past middle age, you might be undernourished...
and what you can do about it.
Sources:
- Christie W and Moore C.
"The impact of humor on patients with cancer," Clin J Oncol Nurs 2005; 9(2): 211-18 - Goodwin PJ, et al.
"Frequency of vitamin D (Vit D) defi ciency at breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and association with risk of distant recurrence and death in a prospective cohort study of T1-3, N0-1, M0 BC," J Clin Oncol 2008; May Suppl. - Fink BN, et al.
""Dietary Flavonoid Intake and Breast Cancer Survival among Women on Long Island," Cancer Epidemology 2007; 16(11): 2285-92 - "Health Concerns: Breast Cancer," Life Extension Magazine.
6/15/2004
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