#60

Cancer tip #60 – Visit my nephew for lunch when I’m in RI (one of them yelled at me) .

Okay, not only that, but this is the last Caregiver Tip and in some ways the most important. Then it’s on to my favorite and many of yours -- neuropathy. Oh baby, it’s time for patients to take the spotlight again; we’ve been too gracious for too long. ‘Cause that’s what we are -- a selfish lot and we ought to own up to it. Yup. Okay, I got distracted from the post.

Caregivers – Be on guard and don’t ignore your own needs. The sicker your patient gets the more your needs increase. Remember, it is more likely than not that your patient will get miserable for a period of time and having a half-dead caregiver doesn’t help anyone. The most common signs for caregiver burnout and fatigue are:

Fatigue, Guilt, Anxiety, Stress, Frustration, Isolation, Depression, Anger, Resentment, and Illness. (As I look at these, it seems like a pretty standard day in Caregiver-land),