Having a loved one diagnosed with a disease like brain cancer is a traumatic experience for a marriage, a family, and a community. Going through treatment with your spouse isn’t any easier, and can take a substantial toll on a person’s overall mentality. When a spouse is diagnosed, it affects your life in many ways. Not only will it impact your home life, but your workplace, social life, and familial relationships can undergo dramatic changes.
Family Dynamics
When your wife is diagnosed with brain cancer it will not only affect you but your children as well, if you have any. While this might sound obvious to say, we can’t underplay how serious a brain cancer diagnosis is, and depending on your child’s age, it can be a tough thing for them to process. This can change how you communicate with your children, as well as your wife — during any crisis like a disease in the family, staying open and available for communication whenever possible is of the utmost importance. As a husband and father, it’s your job to be the rock of the situation. This is true even if you don’t have children.
Changes in the Marriage
A marriage, like any other relationship, relies on honesty, vulnerability, and an open dialogue at all times. Brain cancer can impact a person’s ability to communicate, depending upon what region of the brain it’s in. Symptoms can range from migraines to nausea to spells of vertigo. The brain is pretty important, and cancer is just about the worst thing for it. This can put a real damper on the side of marriage that takes place in the bedroom, though this isn’t the case every time. While people with brain cancer can have a hard time navigating daily tasks if their illness is more advanced, those in earlier stages might not present any symptoms at all.
Daily Care
Tasks that you might be responsible involve a lot of the mundane. People in earlier stages of the illness will likely need assistance getting to appointments, making it to chemo, and attending therapy sessions. Picking up and organizing medications, preparing and cooking healthy meals, managing the kid’s school schedules — a lot can fall on your plate when your partner is diagnosed. Those in later stages might need assistance cutting their food, clothing themselves, getting out of bed, and managing other basic tasks on their own. Brain cancer can be quite a terrifying experience to deal with, but it requires families to unite if they want to overcome it.
When Bob Burr founded Community Panda, he knew he wanted to help people. Now that his wife is suffering from brain cancer, he needs the help and support of others. Click here to learn more about his cause, and how to help his family as they face the challenges discussed above. Despite this recent life event, he is still dedicated to learning more about diseases and other community issues. Not only does this campaign aim to raise awareness, but we also donate a percentage of our profits to local organizations that help people re-transition back into society after traumatic life experiences.