A cancer diagnosis can be crippling in itself, inciting fear and anxiety over an unknown or perhaps dreaded future. Victims worry about their health, their looks, and their families when a doctor pronounces this terrible sentence. If a friend or family member is struggling with one of the many forms of cancer, your support and encouragement are likely to be most welcome.

But how do you help someone who has cancer? Don’t approach her gingerly, as though she might break or fade away. Of course, if the diagnosis is grim, you need adapt your attitude accordingly and not gloss over serious implications.

1. Offer practical assistance. As you have time, run errands or bring in a home-cooked meal. Grocery shopping, letter mailing, and kid drop-offs at sporting events can save the sick person’s time and energy.

2. Be an encouragement. Send a funny get-well card or an inspiring note. Drop off a humorous video or suggest praying together before you leave.

3. Be willing to listen. Sometimes those facing a serious problem like cancer, especially when a terminal diagnosis has been given, may simply want to reminisce about the past, discuss future plans, or share difficult emotions. Just being available to listen in person, by telephone, or via the Internet can provide a beautiful source of support. Don’t push or pry, however. Wait until the person is ready to talk.

4. If the situation warrants, consider donating financial support. A single mother with two fatherless children may need to get connected to social service agencies. Or she may have some general support already, but lack a little extra money for holidays or birthdays. You may want to send a card with a $20 check that could help pay for special occasions or real needs, needs, like medication, above and beyond any insurance coverage.

5. Provide transportation. If the person grows weak or is unable to drive and family members work at jobs that keep them from driving the sufferer to appointments, ask if you can take the person when you are available. Getting around is one of the greatest challenges facing people who become immobile with serious illnesses.

Whatever your circumstances, chances are you can offer some kind of help to a person who is struggling with cancer.

When to Seek Professional Cancer Help and Advice

Cancer help provided early on will make a significant contribution to survival and treatment. Differenttypes of cancers will exhibit their own symptoms, which, if you recognize them you should immediately seek professional cancer help. Here are the most common forms of cancer and their symptoms:

• Bone cancer - constant pain or swelling in a certain area, fractures, weakness, fatigue, constipation, unexplained weight loss, and numbness in the legs.

• Lung cancer - persistent chest ache, blood in spit, constant cough, enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, and congestion in the lungs. Smokers are very prone to this kind of cancer.

• Prostate cancer - difficulties in urination, frequently feeling urges to urinate, burning sensation during urination, blood in urine, tenderness in bladder, and ache in the pelvis or back are signs you need to get cancer help. This type of cancer occurs only in men.

• Stomach cancer - discomfort or pain in the abdomen, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, diarrheal, blood in vomit or stool, and weakness and fatigue.

• Brain cancer - drowsiness, dizziness, sudden changes in vision or eye movement, loss in feelings in arms or legs, difficulty walking, memory and speech difficulties, extreme headaches accompanied by nausea and vomiting are signs that you need to seek cancer help for the brain.

Once you recognize symptoms that may be cancer, seeking professional and medical cancer help is the first most important step you can take towards treatment and cure. • Being aware of any changes in your body will greatly let you determine if you need to ask for cancer help. Regular examination of your body and observing any changes is good, however many cancers do not exhibit physical symptoms. If you are experiencing any of these, be sure to ask for cancer help and professional medical care.

• You should also be aware of certain cancers that you may be prone to, so talk to your doctor about family history and when to ask for cancer help and checkups for various cancers.

• With lymph nodes being the number 1 telltale sign of low immunity, watch out for enlarged lymph nodes throughout the body, such as in the armpit, under the ears, and in the pelvic area. These may be signs that you need to ask for cancer help for lymph node cancer and other related diseases.

How Self-Hypnosis Can Help Cancer Sufferers

Self-hypnosis is a wonderful support that can help guide you to feel less pain whether you are suffering from leukemia or another form of cancer. This is a complementary approach to your medical treatments established by your physician.

Comprehensive Care for Cancer

Approaches to deal with these kinds of diseases should be comprehensive. Your physician creates a medical plan of action and these strategies can be augmented with self-hypnosis to work with the psychological aspects of treatment for illness.

Psychological Dimension of Illness

There are many psychological factors to deal with in the effective comprehensive treatment of cancer. Help is available through self-hypnosis because you work through your subconscious mind to deal with your condition rationally and effectively.

Hypnosis and Relaxation

Self-hypnosis is a guide that leads you from your conscious state into a state of calm relaxation. The relaxed state allows you to develop a new perspective on your condition. Positive feelings ensue and you are better able to communicate with your body through the subconscious mind.

Instead of working through an analytical mode of thought, your mind shifts to a synesthetic mode of thinking. This allows greater communication between emotion, sensations and the body. In turn, you have greater control of your body on physical and psychological levels.

Healing Emotions

Your emotional state can serve to heal your body in many cases. You conjure powerful visions, positive thoughts and images of behavioural follow through. This process evokes healing emotions that provide significant help for cancer.

Help for Cancer with Self-Hypnosis

Self-hypnosis is very effective in modulating pain. Sensations of pain are closely associated with depression and anxiety. Hypnosis can help you lessen your pain by removing the negative feelings that accompany it. This process also helps you replace pain sensations with pleasant ones.

Visualization is a powerful tool in self-hypnosis because the subconscious mind does not distinguish between reality and imagination. Self-hypnosis helps you focus on positive emotions and sensations, making them real in the mind. Your body, then, responds in kind.

The relaxed state also guides you to manage the side effects of treatment better. This is the ideal complementary help with cancer that benefits your mind and body.