Helping/Supporting My Partner

Hello, 

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on supporting a loved one. My girlfriends mum has stage 4 cancer and unfortunately caught coronavirus and is in hospital, and unfortunately things aren't looking good.

My girlfriend is currently living with me which is great, as she is normally at university 3hours away, so it's nice for her to be in our hometown and close to her family. Obviously at the moment we are unable to see the rest of her family (Dad and Sister) due to COVID restrictions and they are currently isolating due to testing positive also.

My girlfriend is so caring and wonderful, however I can tell that she is not herself, which is totally understandable given the situation. I think she feels helpless, and wants to see her mum of course.

However I want to be able to help and support her more, she is not really much of a talker, she doesn't like to discuss her feelings and if I bring up her mum she shuts down.

I obviously don't push her to talk because I know she doesn't like it, but I just let her know I'm here if she does. 

It just doesn't feel like enough. 

Apologies for the ramble, I just really want to help her as much as I can and want to make sure I am doing everything I can. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks 

 

  • Welcome to Cancer Chat, ESGU20.

    I'm sorry to hear that your girlfriend is having trouble coping with her mum's condition and that COVID has made it all worse, but I'm glad she has you as such a caring partner.

    We have other members here who are in a similar position of helping loved ones whose family members are cancer patients, and I hope that very soon some of them will pop by with words of advice and support. In the meantime, I wanted to share this page from our website. There are some tips for helping someone with cancer as a family member, which might bet of help to your girlfriend.

    Take good care of yourself, too, and remember we're always here if you need a chat.

    Best wishes to you all,

    Renata, Cancer Chat Moderator