Having a family member, friend or co-worker battle against cancer is one of the hardest and worst realities in life. No one likes to help someone deal with cancer, but at some point almost all of us will have the opportunity to walk beside someone we care about through one of the most difficult times of their life: cancer treatment.



I have had the privilege (and I do mean privilege) of helping out both of my parents and one of my closest friends during their weeks and months of cancer treatments. At first I was quite intimidated and unsure of how to help in such serious and life-threatening situations. I thought because I didn't know the perfect things to do that I couldn't do anything at all. Was I wrong.

Some of the best ways to help out a friend or loved one as their undergo cancer treatment is in the most practical ways. Don't look past how helpful cleaning their bathrooms, doing their dishes, or collecting their garbage can be. It is an amazing thing to get down and dirty on behalf of someone else. Look around and simply see what needs to be done. Mow their lawn, plant some fresh flowers, or get their car cleaned on the inside and out.

Taking care of the family of the one getting cancer treatment is one of the most helpful things you can do, especially when there are children involved. Offer to take the children to school and pick them up, or invite the kids over to your house for frequent sleepovers during the cancer treatment. It will be good for the parents and good for the kids to be separated during such a hard time. Involve the kids in doing something special for their parent who is in cancer treatment. Take the kids to a boutique that allows you to paint your own pottery, for example. Help the kids make something memorable for their loved one. You can do simple things for the family of someone who is in cancer treatment like go grocery shopping, prepare meals or take their family out to special meals.

Far too often people think that helping out during a time of crisis such as cancer treatment that they have to do extraordinary things. The truth is that it is the ordinary things that need to happen long before anything else will be helpful. There is no doubt that dealing with cancer or undergoing cancer treatment is extremely hard. But the support and help of friends and families can make even the worst things in life better.