Caring for a spouse, child or parent who has cancer can be a difficult task to undertake. For personal assistance, many support groups exist to help provide you with the emotional support you may need as you adjust to your sudden and unforeseen role as caregiver.

The Comprehensive Cancer Center at Desert Regional Medical Center offers caregivers individual support to prepare them with the unexpected care of their loved one.
Dr. Anita Chatigny, the Center's Director of Psychosocial Services, and a 14-year veteran in the field of medical psychology, describes the needs of caregivers and the mission of the Center's new Caregivers Support Program.

"In meeting with caregivers, the idea of a caregiver program was born out of conversations with many special caregivers who provided us with their own insights and challenges. Today, caregivers look for more than just a group; they would like a comprehensive approach to address their needs. They're interested in three different aspects of care: cancer advocacy, patient support, and caregivers' support.

"The Center's Caregivers Support Program provides educational information about aspects of advocacy as well as cancer care, medication and symptom management. In addressing the second area of interest, we offer a forum for caregivers to share thoughts on how to deal effectively with the challenges that patients face, not only the emotional but the physical challenges of in-home support, transportation and available resources for tangible needs such as walkers or other special equipment. The final area entails direct caretaker support. Caregivers know that they have needs but they are primarily focused on giving and sometimes the focus on giving can take its toll emotionally and physically on the caregiver.

"Caregivers who are dealing with cancer are on a heightened state of alert both emotionally and physically to deal with the many twists and turns of cancer care. When a person goes into a mode of crisis intervention, the level of energy that's required to be able to sustain that for a short period of time is something that most of us as human beings are able to do. But when we are talking about day-in and day-out requirements, to be able to sustain this, what typically happens is, there can be, not always, but there can be both physical and emotional exhaustion. We advise every caregiver that we see to make sure they take care of themselves. That may come from allowing themselves to have leisure time of their own, allowing themselves to rest at night, allowing themselves to have proper nutrition and sleep as well. We want to make sure the caregivers are able to sustain the job of caregiving throughout the course of the treatment.

"It is highly critical that caregivers first fill their own vessel because if their own vessel is empty, they're not going to have much to give. People can latch on to that image. So whatever that means for every individual caregiver may be different because sometimes caregivers' needs are different. The main thing is to make sure the vessel is filled.

"In sum, the Center's Caregivers Support Program will allow caregivers the outlet to talk with others who share their common experiences and meet to exchange hints, tips and resources to improve the quality of care for their loved ones and for themselves."

For more information on the Center's new Caregivers Support Program or the Well-Beings Program, a support group for both patients and caregivers, call (760) 416-4834.