How does Cancer affect people around us?

Im doing this project. We research about cancer. My role is to find out how it can affect the people around us (friends, families etc) can anyone answer this? Please?

How does Cancer affect people around us?
My partner has taken on a huge burden of responsibilities since my diagnosis. My partner now does all the grocery shopping, so I don't have to be exposed to crowds of people while my blood counts are low; all the housework so I can get the rest I need; changing the cat litter boxes so I am not exposed to germs; as well as keeping me company during chemotherapy infusions, attending appointments with the oncologist so that we both can ask questions, etc. My partner also tolerates my mood swings without flinching and always maintains a positive attitude.
Reply:my dad had cancer and it was very hard to see him go through. i was constantly afraid of loosing him. i wanted him to be there to see me graduate, get married, and have children. i cried an awful lot of the time but i used resources that helped me immensely. talking to people helped. writing and playing the piano also helped. i prayed every night. thankfully my dad made a full recovery and we are at the 2 and 1/2 year mark. hope this helped.
Reply:My husband had colon cancer. It affects the family in so many ways. He was diagnosed as terminal in 2003 when our daughter was 5 months old. The oncologist said to not give up. You never know when a new drug could come out that helps. I wanted to keep a positive attitude for my husband because he was a fighter and lived 4 years after that diagnosis. I didn't want him to think I was thinking he would die but it crossed my mind every day. It's hard to make any future plans because that thought is always in the back of your head, "If he dies, what will I do". We had considered buying a new house because ours is getting fairly old but I talked him out of it because I thought "How would I pay for this if he dies". It also was hard on my daughter. Having to get up at all hours of the night to go to the hospital if he got sick. And just not being able to play with her dad the way other kids could. He had 2 ports for chemo, a feeding tube and a colostomy so she couldn't just jump on him. Also in the last 6 months of his life, he was on a feeding tube so he wasn't eating any solid foods. Needless to say we didn't go out to eat anymore and we had to be home by 7:00 pm every night so he could start the feeding tube. I don't want to sound like it was so awful for us. I know he was in much pain and he felt bad for us having to go through it too but it really does affect the daily lives of everyone who lives in the same house as the person who has cancer.
Reply:My best friend has cancer. The first time she was diagnosed, it changed our entire relationship and made us closer. A lot of people backed off, I stuck by, remained calm during the er visits, chemo, breakdowns, freak outs, etc.


You learn to be incredibly strong for someone besides yourself. I have amazing tolerance of others' faults becasue I really understand how deep personal pain can be.


For a while I was too centered on my friend. We were in our 20's and not married, so I was her everyday primary caregiver. Her mom came into town for major surgery and a lot of the chemos, but everything else came to me. I scooped cat litter when her counts were low, answered the phone at 3 am when she couldn't sleep because the drugs gave her nightmares. I glared at the people who stared at her bald head in some morbid fascination. My life did not exist outside of her needs.


I've found more balance. I still answer the phone every time she calls no matter what because I never know what might be going wrong, but I've reached out to some of our other friends to help and she's learned to cope with her situation on her own more.


It affects us all differently.
Reply:When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, all the women around me who had been stalling in getting mammograms went and got it done. I think it gets those people involved with you thinking about the meaning of life and what is important to them. I think most realize that their relationships mean the most to them.