A breast cancer diagnosis is one of the most frightening experiences a woman can face in her lifetime. As part of a support system for a breast cancer patient, there are several ways to show your support. If your mother is the individual who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, there is more urgency to supporting her, and you may feel at a loss for meaningful ways to do so. There are ways to support your mother as well as support the cause of fighting breast cancer.

Mother

Find out specifically what the doctor said regarding the stage of the breast cancer, and research that stage. Gather as much information and relative research for your mother as you can. Chances are your mother feels overwhelmed or still may be in shock from the diagnosis and does not feel up to researching her condition herself. Gather information about her specific stage of cancer and present it to her. Explain the prognosis in easy-to-understand terms with only relative treatment statistics and information. Do not overwhelm her; give her only information she can use right now. Research breast cancer support groups in your mother's area or online if she is Internet savvy. No matter how hard you try to be the best support system possible for your mother, you will not be able to give her exactly what she needs by way of support unless you, too, have had a breast cancer diagnosis. A breast cancer support group will let her really talk about her fears and vent her anger. Instead of asking your mother what you can do for her and giving her the opportunity to say "nothing," ask her what most needs to be done at that time or what she most dreads doing. For example, maybe she has put off grocery shopping or getting her taxes done, or maybe she dreads doing laundry or walking the dog. There are tasks she really won't want to do. So don't give her the opportunity to brush off your offer of help.

Breast Cancer the Cause

To help fight breast cancer, get a team together for a breast cancer walk/run. There are many different walks around the country throughout the year that raise money and awareness for breast cancer research and breast cancer treatment. These events also raise money and help promote self-examinations for early detection of breast cancer. Get involved in one of these walks/runs. There are many to choose from, all of which are available on the National Breast Cancer Foundation website. One of the big walks/runs is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Information regarding this race is available at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure website. There are many different "pink" products you can purchase to show your support for your mother and the millions of other women diagnosed with breast cancer every year. These products promote awareness and early self-detection of breast cancer, and a portion of the sales of these pink products goes to breast cancer research. There are pink laptop computers, pink shoes, pink bicycles and many other pink products.

Source:

Kaboose: Breast Cancer Guide

National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc.: Information, awareness and donations

Susan G. Komen for the Cure: News and information