by Life Credit Company | Apr 23, 2015 | Quality of Life & Emotional Support
If your friend or relative was recently diagnosed with cancer, it can be a physical, emotional, and financial difficultly for everyone they know. Throwing benefits are a great way to offer financial help for cancer patients. Here’s how you can plan a benefit to ease the financial burden of your loved one suffering from cancer. Create a Plan First, gather a small group of people to help plan the event. There are many great fundraising ideas for cancer patients so within the group decide what kind of benefit to host, such as silent auctions, spaghetti dinners, or bowling. Be sure to pick something fun and uplifting to get the community involved and boost the patient’s morale. Next, pick a location and time and give yourself at least a month in advance to plan. Some places like schools, churches, and fire halls will donate their facilities for free, so be sure to pick a facility that best fits the situation. Stick to Your Budget Next, estimate the cost of the supplies and decide on admission price. Some people just ask for donations at the door while others provide a set price. Offering a 50/50 raffle is another great way to raise funds if a set door price isn’t desirable. You can also save costs by asking for donations from local businesses, such as food, auction items, raffle items, utensils, or decorations. Be sure to collect the contact info of all donors, including those at the event, so you can send out “thank you” notes to show your appreciation. Spread the Word Finally, be sure to advertise around town and contact local media...
by Life Credit Company | Apr 20, 2015 | Quality of Life & Emotional Support
If a loved one or friend of yours was recently diagnosed with cancer, it’s important to give them the emotional support they need. Here’s how to help lessen their new burden, including finding financial assistance for cancer patients. The Little Things Matter When a friend or family member is first diagnosed with cancer, some people avoid them altogether for fear of disturbing them or not knowing what to say. However, the best thing you can do for them is making them feel as normal and loved as possible. Cancer can be a lonely disease, so be sure to invite the person to go out with you or just spend time with them. Whether it’s going out for lunch or seeing a movie, most cancer patients would love an excuse to get out and forget about their problems for a while. Be a Good Listener Furthermore, always be sure to listen to them with an open mind and closed mouth. They may want to talk to you about their chances of survival and what will happen if they don’t. Reassure them that you’ll honor their wishes and requests, whether it’s about their living will or giving their pet a good home. If you avoid these conversations because you’re hopeful they’ll survive, it could make it more difficult for them. Ease Their Financial Worries Finally, you can help them feel better by easing the financial burden of their treatment. Offer any financial assistance you can and politely ask their friends and relatives for help too. You can also raise funds with loans, benefits, or online fundraisers. Plus, there are lots of...
by Life Credit Company | Mar 20, 2015 | Quality of Life & Emotional Support
When a loved one has been diagnosed with a life threatening illness, so many thoughts run through our mind. We wonder how to help with financial assistance for cancer patients and how we can provide emotional and physical support. What formula works best as a support person? Given how varied people’s situations are, both for the patient and the friend or relative, that’s tough to answer. But two guiding principles stand out. Grasping Some Difficult Opportunities First, what may look like common sense, logical, or obvious to you may not be how the patient sees it. And, except where the patient is a child or has a mental disability, it isn’t our role to parent them, teach them or steer them in the right direction. What’s right for them may not be right for you. Choices you would make in their situation are undoubtedly going to differ, at least slightly and perhaps dramatically, from what they would do. That may be the hardest lesson: don’t steer; the patient is driving. The second principle flows from the first: support means backing the choices of our friend or relative even when we would choose differently. Our advice can be useful, but it may not be wanted. Instead, the best support is usually the simplest: carry out the instructions and wishes of the patient. Following the patient’s lead can be extremely hard. Many cancer patients make life and death decisions. They are making choices that sometimes contravene our own principles. But that is often the most important preparation we can make. Whether we’re in a position to offer financial assistance to a...
by Life Credit Company | Feb 20, 2015 | Quality of Life & Emotional Support
Sometimes the best help for cancer patients is to say, I’m thinking of you. Our natural instinct to rush in and help can be great, but also sometimes overwhelming, especially when a lot of friends offer assistance all at once. Gift baskets for cancer patients might sound odd – aren’t they for festive occasions? But it turns out that patients find certain things immensely useful, and many of them fit into a gift basket. You can get baskets made by a company, like the gift sets offered by Choose Hope. Also check out Matt’s Chemo Bags for ideas from this very driven young man making the bags available across the country. Lip balm is popular, but so are other things that may be less obvious: a teddy bear, spa socks, and body lotion can all add a great feel to a sometimes tough situation. Everyday Items can be Vital Some things are so ordinary we wouldn’t dream of including them in a gift basket. Yet those very items can be the best. Hand sanitizer can protect people with a compromised immune system, making a thoughtful idea a crucial part of their tool kit. Gum can help fight dry mouth by promoting saliva. And a journal can be useful for everything from journaling to keeping track of medications and appointments. Stepping Out The great thing about a gift basket is you can include your own items to express your connection. Maybe a CD, or an audio book, photograph of the two of you or a favorite quote. What can you include that helps them feel connected to you? Putting a...
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