Cancer Discussions - August 29th, 2009 - 3 Comments
How do men cope when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer?
I am taking a class on ministry to people with cancer and their families. For my class project I want to look at how men cope and what they experience when a wife or child is diagnosed with cancer. Some of the questions are these:
Do men see themselves are protector and provider?
If so, how do they deal with the powerlessness they have when they cannot protect their loved one against cancer?
Does this have an effect on self worth?
If anyone knows if there are any blogs or websites that might help with this project please let me know.
Thanks. and God bless.
I have attached a very good site that will help you to get a flow for how cancer impacts the family as a whole and in particular the men of women with breast cancer.
The whole site is worth the read for anyone even if cancer has not touched your family, studies show that it will have touched your friends.
I see the issues you bring up as very true for many men. You might want to contact a hospice and talk with the chaplain and the social worker to hear what they say about this. They would have a lot to share.
I’ve seen men go two ways. When our baby was diagnosed my hubby was devastated. He felt so powerless and I don’t know if he ever will get over that. But he bucked up and was supportive and helpful.He left work for months to be with us in the hospital. Two other guys I know ran away from it all. Always sat at the bar feeling sorry for themselves. Too "busy" to deal with the hard parts. I felt sorry for their wives.