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Breast Cancer Awareness Month: A List of Dos and Don’ts to Tell Someone Who’s Sick | Photo credit: iStock Images
New Delhi: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and also one of the leading causes of death, especially among women. October is observed as Breast Cancer Awareness Month to reduce the stigma around the disease and educate people to raise awareness about the prevention, treatment and risk of breast cancer.
As we look at this month amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been ravaging the world, it is important to understand the impact of the disease on people’s mental health, especially when the worst has hit due to the stress of the pandemic. As important as it is to know the symptoms, causes and prevention methods of the disease, it is also equally vital to know how to treat someone who suffers from it and / or was a victim of it in the past. As we celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when people may need the support of others more than ever, here is a list of a few things you should and should not say to someone with the disease.
Dos and Don’ts for Someone with Breast Cancer
- Get over it – The disease can not only be life-threatening, but also change it. If you know someone who has or is battling the disease, don’t approach them with the “get over it” solution. Coping with the aftermath of illness can also be equally difficult and affect your physical and mental health.
- They don’t need their breasts – Breast cancer is likely to affect older women more than younger women. Very often, these elderly women who have already undergone various changes in their body, hear people say that it is okay that they have the disease because they no longer need their breasts to breastfeed their newborns. However, they often do not understand that such drastic changes can also have a profound impact on a person’s psychological health.
- It’s just hair Breast cancer patients often undergo chemotherapy as a treatment, which can lead to hair loss and baldness. Many people think it is a comfort when they tell a patient that it is just hair and that it will grow back, or they can fix it with a wig. Not only is it insensitive, but it is also derogatory to reduce your disease to hair loss.
- Giving unnecessary advice – We all believe in the power of home remedies and some miraculous ways to cure certain diseases. However, unfortunately, these cures or remedies do not work for cancer. By giving patients unnecessary advice on how they can “cure” their cancer, you can not only make the problem worse, but you can also make them feel like they are not doing enough for their health.
- Blame it on them – Breast cancer is caused by a variety of factors. Some of these factors are under our control, like our lifestyle, while others are not, like genetics. It is not correct to blame the patient that it is due to their carelessness or lifestyle that they contracted the disease, because many people may not get the disease even when they follow a similar lifestyle, simply because it is not inherited.
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What to say instead?
It is important to provide support and understand the pain that a breast cancer patient goes through. Just asking them how they are, keeping up with their appointments and treatments, and helping them lead a normal life are some of the things we can do. Remember, if you don’t have anything nice to say, it’s best to say nothing at all.
