Role of a Caregiver: Making an Important Difference
A team beyond your doctors and nurses
In addition to a team of healthcare professionals, you have a personal team of people that are there for you. This team includes family and friends—in particular your primary caregiver or caregivers, such as a spouse, child, relative or close friend.
Caregivers, as well as family and friends, are perhaps the most important members of your team. They're the ones helping you with your daily needs, whether it's taking you to the doctor, supporting you when you feel depressed or frustrated, or just being there when you need someone to talk to.
What does a caregiver do?
The purpose of the caregiver is straightforward — to help a loved one, friend, or family member cope with their cancer treatment. This simple definition, however, only begins to describe how essential a caregiver is to a patient's well being.
Caring for a loved one is just something that they do, a natural extension of their commitment to friends and family. But the caregiver is an essential part of the patient's team, the one who is with them day in and day out, helping them cope with the myriad concerns that are bound to arise. Caregivers are a constant source of strength and support.
Taking on the caregiver's role
If you find yourself caring for someone with GIST, you're probably already involved in the treatment process—taking your loved one to the doctor, picking up medications and supporting them when they feel overwhelmed. Sometimes simple listening is what they need most. Just having someone by their side helps patients feel that they're not alone.
Many caregivers help loved ones maintain a folder containing health information. This can be shared with doctors and nurses on a regular basis.
