The Cancer Caregiver

The phone call. You know, the call from the Dr that you are waiting for. You have no idea when it will come and you definitely don’t want to miss it because that means the process would start all over again. Today let’s talk about waiting for the call. I remember when my husband was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer. There were a lot of tests that needed to be coordinated. Phone calls put into t...

00:00 Introduction and background information on Cameron Huddleston. Wrote her book “Mom and Dad We Need To Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations With Your Parents About Their Finances” in 2019. She wrote from her own experiences with her mom as she aged. Also a Family Finance Expert with Get carefull.com 02:30 Information about Get Carefull 05:33 Financial Education and information on getcare...

You’re a caregiver… so you know that nothing stays the same for too long. Everything shifts and changes and once you feel like you have a handle on things it changes again. I know how unsettling that can feel.  When I think of change the song “Seasons Change” by Exposé always pops into my head because … well … I was in seventh grade back then and sometimes music always seems better from when you w...

My husband went in for surgery three months ago and I was concerned because I felt waaaaaaayyyyyy too calm. It wasn’t anything like the way things were for past surgeries.  I thought maybe I should take this as a win. But….. it made me a little uneasy to do that this time around.  You see this surgery wasn’t as complicated as the last few. Just six months before it he had surgery to remove lymph n...

There’s so many different levels of stress right? But I find that the higher up we go on that stress spectrum my body reacts to it differently. Then there is caregivers stress that just is it’s own beast, right?  I feel that as a caregiver there is always the potential that big things can happen quickly. I can walk into a doctor’s office with my husband living one life and walk out into a new life...

Deep down there is a little part of you that knows you need therapy. If you are a caregiver you can find a million reasons why you don't have the time/can't go. This episode is for everyone who wants to know... * What happens in that first therapy session * How therapy is different than a FB Group or an App. * How to navigate the fear of being judged by friends and family. * The benefits of therap...

Do you understand how important caregiving is? I know you’re doing it but do you understand how critical your role is for the person you are caring for? Have you taken time to actually write out everything you do as a caregiver?  In today’s episode, you will be reminded of how important you are and how proud you should be of yourself. Not sure how to do that? Listen and then head over to www.careg...

Right now we own the messaging. There aren’t any caregiving PSA’s being produced anytime soon so the only way people will begin to notice our worth is if we communicate that to them.  Listen to how caregivers can control their own messaging and let me know what you think. www.caregiverconnectionpodcast.com

I think it isn’t being misunderstood as a caregiver that causes us to feel lonely and unsupported. I feel that we feel this way because caregiving is undervalued.  Listen to this episode and then please let me know what you think. Maybe there is a point you feel I am missing. I'd love to have a conversation about this. www.caregiverconnectionpodcast.com

Listen to today’s episode to hear more about : How having a plan in place for long-term care is important to do long before it needs to happen.  How powerful it is to involve the person who will need care in the planning when they are still able to make choices.  Things to think about in planning for long-term care and understanding how some things you do now can affect eligibility for programs an...

No one told you that you wouldn’t be able to do everything when you became a caregiver. There was a care plan put in place for your husband, Dr’s visits lined up, surgeries schedule, timelines for recovery, and what to expect from it all.  No one sat you down to tell you how to expect your life to change, how hard things would get, the need for your own care plan and support group, or at the very...

I love watching movies…don’t you? I especially like to see people overcome their challenges and win in the end. You know the type of movie that for a part of it you start to question how anyone could get through that and then you are super happy to see them do it? The best part for me is if they have a power statement or catchphrase. You know that thing they say that makes you say Ohhhhhhh crap! H...

I find that happiness can be a tough subject for caregivers. I used to base my happiness on how well my husband was feeling or thought if something would change in my life it would make me happy. Caregiving is a struggle and some days it's really difficult to even think happiness is an option.  The thing that has to happen for you to find happiness as a caregiver is - accept your caregiving role....

Listen to my conversation with the caregiver and author Rachel Engstrom. We talk about her book and her journey through caregiving for her husband who had LSS. Rachel will talk about her experience as a caregiver and a widow. She shares some of the important lessons she learned, the hardships she experienced and how she can come out of it as a positive person. You can find Rachel’s book “Wife, Wid...

I thought today I’d let you into my world a little.  Listen today to learn how: How caregiving impacts me the most What it hurts me to see in the caregiving world My hopes for caregivers for this year. How impactful we can all be to create a better world for caregivers. Find more support at www.caregiverconnectionpodcast.com

Want to hear about the five things I learned about caregiving these past 12 months? Listen to today’s episode and then come to the website www.caregiverconnectionpodcast.com to let me know if you have things you've learned this past year and download the Top 5 Tools Every Spousal Caregiver Must Have.

When you resist the changes in your life as a caregiver it makes things much more difficult and life just really starts to suck more for you. It took me years to figure that out! In today’s episode you’ll hear more on learning how to anticipate the things you’ll need when things get more serious for your loved one and how to find things to look forward to during these times. Find more caregiving s...

Caregiving isn’t usually magical.  But, we do have the ability to decide not to do some things. Think about one or two caregiving tasks that you really hate to do. Maybe you don’t like cooking all the time. OR possibly your spouse is bed bound and it’s really hard for you to give them a bath.  Find the thing that makes you feel like crying when you know you have to do it soon.  It’s ok.  We all ha...

Emma is from Victoria Australia and the author of "The Blind Side of Caregivers". She became a full-time caregiver for a close friend who had terminal liver cancer. He passed away in August 2019. When he passed she became the primary caregiver to his mother who also had terminal liver cancer who passed in December 2020. You can find more about Emma and her book at https://emmacrooke-author.godaddy...

Managing your loved one’s medication can be a royal pain in the butt! No matter if you do it all the time or only after surgeries it’s a big responsibility when you’re already overloaded with responsibilities. I’ve done it all. I’ve taped labels to the pill bottles to check off when they were given. I’ve listed everything out on a pad of paper to make sure I have a way to verify that I gave the ri...

It’s difficult, as a caregiver, to find someone you can talk to about the things you feel while caregiving. Someone who won’t judge you and if you don’t have that person you feel lonely and misunderstood. There are a lot of different issues that we come across that really can’t be fully understood if the other person hasn’t experienced them. But if I have someone who cares for me or loves me enoug...

Caregivers and resentment. It’s there but we never talk about it.  You experience it but never say anything because you don’t want to be judged.  You've given up so much… A job, Sanity Sleep That carefree life you used to have. It’s ok. It’s a normal thing for you to feel. Listen to this episode to hear how every caregiver can handle resentment. While you're listening come over to www.caregivercon...

“When you start to reconsider your assumptions about your life and start to look at caregiving differently you start to find the rewards of caregiving.” Today’s podcast episode is the second of a two part conversation with Dr Aaron Blight. Dr Blight is the author of the new book, When Caregiving Calls: Guidance as You Care for a Parent, Spouse or Aging Relative. Today Dr Blight and I continue our...

“The wife may start to ask herself, Who am I now? Am I more of a caregiver than a wife? Today’s podcast episode is the first of a two part conversation with Dr Aaron Blight Dr Blight is the author of the new book, When Caregiving Calls: Guidance as You Care for a Parent, Spouse or Aging Relative.  In this episode Dr Blight speaks with me on the issues we have in identifying as caregivers. Usually...

Does it ever surprise you when you realize the amount of time and energy you put into taking care of your spouse? All of these things you do for them. All the time. All the energy it takes to be you right now so that you can be there for them.  Does it surprise you that you can do all of this for one human being? Does it ever surprise you when you realize the amount of time and energy you NEVER gi...