Their caregiver or loved one spent more time with them……

As most of you know, November was National Caregiver Month and thanks to a sponsorship from Novocure the EndBrainCancer Initiative (EBCI) was able to provide Awareness & Outreach throughout the month of November. Most importantly, we were able to run a national campaign asking for Caregiver nomination submittals.  I look forward to rereading all of the nominations submitted and find the lessons learned from these nominations quite invaluable.

I write today because a GBM patient recently mentioned that he wished his Caregiver would spend more time with him.  His statement stopped me in my tracks because I often wish I had spent more time with my late husband, Chris Elliott, while he was fighting the same disease.  I didn’t realize it at the time because I was trying to keep my children’s lives as normal as possible. I was simply unwilling to allow cancer to change my children's lives more than it already had. However, in reflecting back, I had many perfect opportunities to spend time with my husband that I would never get back.

When I heard this GBM patients story today,  I felt compelled to write a blog post. It has been awhile since I’ve slowed down long enough to write a blog as I’m so passionate about getting our “Direct Connect” program services of putting patients from across the U.S. in contact with specialists and clinical trials without charging them for our services.

I was taken aback when I heard this GBM patients wishes.  As a wife and a caregiver, I definitely wish I had given more time to my husband throughout the day. And it’s possible that he felt the same. I can only hope that in writing this short blog post, a caregiver out there might see it and pay enough attention to really think about what they are doing with their time. It’s so easy to get mired down in the hard details of caregiving like staying on top of medical issues, researching treatments, the physical and emotional demands, not to mention the everyday life that must continue in spite of a diagnosis. I would encourage all caregivers out there to not only take some time for themselves but to hold dear the precious moments they have with their loved ones as they fight this terrible disease. I want you to know that it truly is ok to let the little things go.

Blessings,

Dellann Elliott Mydland, Founder & President