How To Cope When A Loved One Has Breast Cancer

Dealing with a loved ones suffering can sometimes be tougher than dealing with your own. LAKSHIKA PINTO helps you find ways to navigate through the pain.

- Lakshika Pinto

Hearing that someone you love has been diagnosed with breast cancer is terrifyingly life changing for that person and you as well. You’re immediately thrown into a world of medical jargon, survival rates and an abyss of uncertainty. As scary as your world becomes with such a grim diagnosis, this isn’t the end. In fact, this is very much just the beginning of a whole new reality for you and her. A breast cancer diagnosis involves a lot of tests, waiting rooms, appointments and medication. Whilst this new reality can be a lot for the patient herself to handle, this is exactly why it’s even more important that you are there for your loved one.

According to the World Cancer Research Fund International website, there were an estimated 14.1 million cancer cases around the world in 2012. 6.7 million cases were in women, and breast cancer was the second most common cancer with approximately 1.7 million new cases reported in 2012. By 2035, researchers are expecting a jump from 14.1 million to a staggering 24 million. Seeing as breast cancer has been the most common cancer globally in women, with a contribution of over 25% to the total number in 2012, it’s best to know how you can help if someone dear to you was to be diagnosed.

STAY CALM