At first, there were no tears. Those came later. Instead, there was just a seemingly endless list of questions—what are the characteristics of lymphoma? What are the available treatments? What can I do?—that I felt ill-equipped to answer. But sometimes personal and work lives can intersect in a surprisingly timely way. Case in point: My interview a few days later with Carson Daly, host of NBC’s The Voice, who’s working with the national initiative Breakaway From Cancer to get the word out about the resources available to people affected by cancer. This past weekend, Daly walked in the group’s Breakaway Mile in California, an event that coincides with the professional bike race Amgen Tour of California For Daly, the issue is personal. “This hits home with me,” he says. His father died of bladder cancer, and his mother is a breast cancer survivor. “I’m honored to have been asked to participate,” says Daly. Breakaway From Cancer is a partnership between the drug company Amgen and four nonprofits working to empower cancer patients and their families with information on prevention, living with cancer, and the financial resources available to them. As Daly puts it: “Cancer is something that affects so many people, and educating people is what helps most.” If you’re not one of the 1.5 million Americans newly diagnosed with cancer in a given year, then chances are, you’re one of the 65.7 million Americans currently serving as caregivers—a job that puts your own health at risk. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2011 Stress in America report, stress and health concerns are especially critical among adults age 50 and older who serve as caregivers for a sick family member—more than half admitted to feeling overwhelmed. That’s where groups like Breakaway can help, offering information and resources to help caregivers better support their loved ones—and themselves. Resources that, as I’ve discovered, you don’t appreciate until you need them. If you’re caring for someone with an illness, here’s help:
Caregiver Briefcase is the American Psychological Association’s extensive list of resources for caregivers of all ages. You’ll also find common caregiving problems and solutions, as well as webinars specifically for caregivers. National Alliance for Caregiving is an organization that offers a variety of materials to support family caregivers, ranging from booklets and tip sheets to webcasts and conference materials. National Caregivers Library offers access to hundreds of articles, forms, and links for caregivers. There’s even a caregiver self-assessment questionnaire that helps you evaluate how you’re doing. National Family Caregivers Association is a group working to support and empower caregivers with tips, advice, resources, and newsletters. Family Caregiving 101 provides the basic tools and information caregivers need to protect their physical and mental health. Care for Caregivers is Prevention’s own need-to-know guide for caregivers that covers how to ask for help—without feeling guilty about it.
At the end of our conversation, Daly told me not to quit—not me, or the millions of others in my shoes. “Don’t assume you know all the answers,” he says, and focus on surviving. “There’s life through survivorship.” More from Prevention: The Best Thing You Can Do As A Caregiver
