Caregivers – How to Help Yourself and the Patient!
Date and Time:
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
5:00-6:00 pm EST
Session Description:
If a friend, relative, or someone you care about has been diagnosed with lymphoma it is often difficult to know what to expect or how you can support them. Just being there and taking the time to listen and offer practical and emotional support whenever needed is a good start! Being in this role is slightly different than being a caregiver or care partner to an individual with lymphoma or CLL.
You are considered to be a caregiver if you are providing for a loved one with lymphoma or CLL who can no longer manage on his or her own. Perhaps you are helping your loved one with daily needs, such as bathing or dressing, paying the bills, and taking him or her to the doctor’s office or the grocery store. You may be a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife, an in-law, a neighbour, or a close friend. You may live together, next door, in another city, or across the country. If you are providing regular assistance to a patient with lymphoma, you are considered to be a caregiver.
As a care partner, it is important for you to take care of yourself while supporting your loved one. Going through the lymphoma journey is difficult for both patient and caregiver, but there are resources available to help you. This webinar will review the many ways that caregivers can provide support, and how caregivers can best take care of themselves, including their physical and mental health, throughout the lymphoma or CLL journey.
Speaker: Torey Belzberg MSW, RSW
Oncology Social Worker, Patient and Family Support – Odette Cancer Center, Toronto, ON
Speaker Biography:
Torey Belzberg is a clinical social worker in Toronto at the Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, with the Patient and Family Support program. Torey graduated from NYU with her masters in social work and has since been practicing in the hospital setting. She worked at Toronto General Hospital in the dialysis centre and then moved to Boston where she worked at Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she found her passion for oncology care. When Torey returned to Canada, she began working at the Odette Cancer Center and now supports the gastrointestinal oncology and hematology site groups. Torey works with patients to address the physical and emotional challenges imposed by cancer and cancer treatment. She also supports family members and partners in navigating the unique roles and responsibilities of caregivers.