You've Been A Caregiver

When I first started to volunteer with Relay For Life, I thought a caregiver of a cancer patient was the one person who was always there; like my dad was always there for my mom when she fought her battle with breast cancer. Now she's a seven-year survivor, and Dad is still at her side. But what about the other caregivers in her life? What about them? Well, to answer that question we must first answer another: Who is a caregiver?

More than the obvious support, a caregiver is someone who mows the lawn for a cancer patient, makes a meal, prays with, loves, makes calls, shares the day...or an hour with a friend with cancer. A caregiver is everyone. So, let's take a cue from Jeff Foxworthy, and take his, "You Might Be a Redneck," and turn it on it's ear: If you've driven a cancer patient to a doctor's appointment, you've been a caregiver. If you've ever checked the air in the tires of a cancer patient, you've been a caregiver. If you've ever baked cookies for your loved one's medical team just to make her day, you've been a caregiver. And when I tended my Mom's flower garden so she could see the pretty colors when she looked out her window, I was a caregiver. The opportunities to be a caregiver are endless.

A caregiver also helps more than the cancer patient alone. A caregiver needs care as well. So, if you've ever babysat your cousin's children so he could take his wife for her radiation treatment, you've been a caregiver. If you've fed your neighbor's dog so he could take his brother to an appointment, you've been a caregiver. If you've shoveled the side walk, cleaned the gutters, baked a pie, or been a shoulder to cry on for a caregiver, you've been a caregiver. And in caring for the caregiver, you've been an important part of a cancer patient's life.

How is a caregiver? You are. You don't have to move mountains, you just have to care.