Apr
I AM TRYING TO FIND OUT AS MUCH AS I CAN ABOUT BRAIN CANCER BECAUSE MY BEST FRIEND'S BROTHER HAS IT AND I WANT TO HELP THEM AS MUCH AS I CAN IN THIS HARD TIME. IF YOU KNOW ANY THING ABOUT BRAIN CANCER ALL INFORMATION WILL BE GREATLY APPREICIATED!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Answer:
Jenna,
I think it is sweet of you to want to be informed for their sake.
I have brain cancer. Upgraded from brain tumors 4 years ago.
There are different types of brain cancer so without knowing exactly which one he has it is rather difficult to help you but I’ll do the ideal I have the ability to.
1) Don't offer your help or services UNLESS you really mean it. There’s nothing more disheartening for someone to hear “I'll be glad to do whatever I can” and then not have that person help.
2) Try not to ask a lot of questions. Believe it or not, it is very tiring for us to answer; especially when they are the same questions over and over and over again, just from different people.
3) Call ahead before you go over to help. Even though it is a good time for you does not mean that it is a good time for him.
4) Don't speak “around” him. In other words, don't speak to others in the room like he isn't even there. That’s so cruel. If you want to know how he is feeling, ask him, not someone else in the room. It makes us feel like we are totally useless.
5) If you’re there and the subject turns yet again to brain cancer, please refrain from saying out loud “I'm so fatigued of hearing about this”. Don't even say that to your friend in confidence. Just think of how tired the patient and his family are of dealing with it.
6) We appreciate smiles and funny jokes, just like everyone else. But please refrain from the hospital jokes or health jokes. Not funny. Keep a positive attitude and it will help him keep a positive attitude.
7) Rejoice in the good news, but try to refrain from saying “gee what a bummer” or “that sucks” when bad news is given. You can think it but we prefer not to hear it. We already know it sucks.
Try and help the family any way you can. Run errands or help clean the house or even do a load of laundry. You’ve no idea how much that helps the family. One less thing to do.
Thank you for caring about your friend and the family so much that you want to help out. I wish there were more like you.
Answer:
There are so many different types of tumour you can get in the brain. They all have totally different symptoms, course, treatment and prognosis.
You don't need to know all about brain cancer to help them - its not your place to explain it to them.
The best way you can help them is by being there for them and seeing if there’s anting you can do for them - do they need someone to prepare a meal or clean for them while they are taking him to the hospital etc?
Answer:
You usually know if you have a brain tumor after an MRI. Not all brain tumors are cancerous. There are dozens of different cancerous brain tumors and they are all different diseases, so you need to be more specific. Asking for all the information known about a specific cancer isn’t the type of question for this forum as the answer is too long. If you want to know more about it that’s great, but I don’t see how it will help you to be more helpful. If you really want to know more about it get a book and use this forum to ask questions about the things you do not understand.