The Importance of Caregivers
- Beloved actor Bradley Cooper, 48, and his 64-year-old mom Gloria Campano, who have remained close since the death of Cooper’s father in 2011, awed sports fans across the country when their Super Bowl 2023 commercial aired over the weekend.
- There's ample evidence that health outcomes are better when somebody has an incredible caregiver by their side, according to one of our experts. But being a good caregiver also means taking care of yourself.
- Similar to Cooper, other celebrities such as Bill Rancic, Patrick Dempsey, and comedian Jesus Trejo have spoken out about their experiences watching loved ones battle cancer.
The mother-son duo, who have remained close since the death of Cooper’s father in 2011, appeared in a promotional video for T-Mobile advertising the company’s 5G.
Read MoreCooper understandably knows how important it is to hold your family close and make sure they're safe. He was with his father throughout his treatment and held his hand when he passed in the hospital.
Following his father’s death, Cooper, who wears his dad’s wedding band on his right hand, spent more time with his mother, traveled with her, and invited her to live with him in his Los Angeles home.
Cooper even had her walk the Oscars 2019 and 2022 red carpet with him.
Back in 2013, Cooper opened up about his relationship with his mother to Details magazine.
“She's a cool chick. We can hang. And she can roll with the punches. If that wasn't the case, there's no way,” Cooper said, according to People.
"My family is very close, and my dad dying was brutal for all of us," he explained. “It was a schism, and its aftershock has not stopped. And we need each other. So here we are."
Cooper continued, “We're surviving. Both of us. Let's face it: It's probably not easy for her, by the way, to be living with her son. It's life."
A few years later, Cooper gave a heartfelt speech at the launch of the Parker Foundation's Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
"I just want to tell you about my father Charles J. Cooper, he passed away from lung cancer in 2011,” Cooper, who described his dad’s cancer fight as “incredibly stressful,” told the crowd. “I was in a very lucky position because I was able to put everything on hold in all aspects of my life and completely focus on taking care of him.”
“I can't even imagine how much more difficult it is for those patients and the families that are less fortunate than I was that simply can't afford to pay for both treatment and rent,” he added.
Understanding Lung Cancer
Lung cancer, the second most common type of cancer, is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the United States.
Diagnosis and treatment of the disease can be tricky since symptoms often don't appear until the cancer has spread. An initial symptom, for example, could be as serious as a seizure if the lung cancer has already spread to the brain. But other symptoms can include increased coughing, chest pain, unexplained weight loss, shortness of breath, wheezing, losing your voice or persistent infections like bronchitis or pneumonia.
The two main types of lung cancer are non-small cell, which makes up 85 percent of cases, and small-cell. These types act differently and, accordingly, require different types of treatment.
What Happens When You've Been Newly Diagnosed With Lung Cancer
Dr. Patrick Forde, a thoracic oncologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, previously told SurvivorNet about how distinguishing between the two types and their subtypes could be very beneficial.
"Within that non-small cell category, there's a subtype called non-squamous adenocarcinoma, and that's the group of patients for whom genetic testing is very important on the tumor," he explains. "Genetic testing is looking for mutations in the DNA, in the tumor, which are not present in your normal DNA."
The Experience of Being a Cancer Caregiver
Caring for someone battling cancer isn't easy, but the experience can be even more difficult if you're caring for your parent. While it can take a toll on your emotional health, caregivers play an integral role in making sure patients are properly cared for, and can bring a little positivity into their life.
Similar to Cooper, other celebrities such as Bill Rancic, Patrick Dempsey, and comedian Jesus Trejo have spoken out about their experiences watching loved ones battle cancer.
After losing his mother to ovarian cancer, the Grey's Anatomy star created the Dempsey Foundation to not only help families impacted by cancer, but also provide resources to caregivers such as group therapy free of charge.
Patrick Dempsey shares an important PSA for cancer caregivers
"We have to look at the psychological impact and have enough self-awareness to ask for help," Dempsey tells SurvivorNet. "Remember to take care of yourself. Because if you're not taking care of yourself, then it's going to be harder for you to take care of the person you're in charge with."
Tips for Caregivers
Sometimes the dynamic of a relationship can change when a partner fills the role of a caregiver. However, it's important to acknowledge the complexities of that role and do what you can as the person needing care or the caregiver to communicate needs on both ends.
"Caregiving is the most important job in the universe because you are there through the highs and lows," Julie Bulger, manager of patient and family-centered care at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, TN, tells SurvivorNet. "You are there to support your loved one, to manage all of the daily tasks as everything is changing in your life."
Bulger's advice is to try to prevent or reduce the risk of caregiver burnout, or the stress, anger, fatigue and illness that can result from putting another person's needs above your own.
"It is important to have some things that you can do outside of the focus of caring for somebody that you love with cancer," she said.
How to Be a Better Caregiver for Your Loved One
According to Bulger, doing so can look as simple as taking a walk or getting a massage, but it can also mean visiting a support group for cancer caregivers and/or seeing a therapist if you're struggling to cope with all of the weighty responsibilities. Regardless of how you chose to prioritize your own health, it's important to understand that research shows that caregivers who take good care of themselves provide the best quality of care. So, by taking care of yourself, you are "helping your loved one in more ways than you know."
"There's so much evidence that outcomes are better when somebody has an incredible caregiver by their side," Bulger said.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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