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Information for carers and family members

A carer is someone who gives support to someone who could not manage without your help. You may not see yourself as a carer and may think this is part of your ‘role’ as a family member/partner or that you are just helping out.

Being a carer can mean a variety of things:

  • Helping with housework and other everyday tasks
  • Taking the person to appointments
  • Giving them emotional support
  • Helping with personal care
  • Giving them medication
  • Talking to other people on their behalf, like healthcare professionals.

Being a carer can be rewarding and fulfilling, it can bring you closer with your loved one. However, the physical and emotional demands can be difficult to manage and you may experience difficulties:

  • Financial struggles
  • Difficult emotions, like sadness, guilt, anger, worry, loneliness
  • Difficulties juggling your job and other responsibilities
  • Feel physically and/or mentally exhausted
  • Balancing caring with other relationships.

Many carers we work with come to us as they are experiencing the difficult emotions we described above. However, for some people guilt can be a barrier to accessing the support despite the distress they may be experiencing. More information about emotional responses can be found here.

Getting support as a carer

Although you may not identify as a carer there is a lot of support out there for people caring for someone with cancer:

Information about supporting someone with cancer and advice on taking care of yourself:

Local services:

Youtube videos