Finding the right words to comfort cancer patients
November 8, 2009
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A good friend of mine recently learned she has breast cancer. Even though I spend most of my time writing for a living, I was at a loss for the right words to comfort her.
It wasn’t until I interviewed Dr. Bernadine Healy, a brain cancer survivor, that I discovered there is such a thing as cancer etiquette.
“I found as a patient, sometimes people are awkward, and they’ll say the strangest things to you,” said Healy, former head of the National Institutes of Health and the American Red Cross.
Read the complete article by CNN Medical Correspondent, Judy Fortin…
Keywords: cancer, cnn, Shelley Lewis, Air America Radio, Five Lessons I Didn’t Learn From Breast Cancer
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Hello Judy,
Here is an idea for offering comfort to someone going through a challenging time when words might fail us. After my own bout with cancer, I began giving other people Purple Hearts to acknowledge courage in the face of challenging times because finding a way to comfort people or the right words can be tricky. The ‘Hope & Healing’ Hide a Heart speaks volumes and can be found on the Hide a Heart web site.