Easy Ways to Show Someone You Care

Whether you are a spouse, child, sibling, parent, or friend of a cancer patient, it is important that you never stop expressing your love. Showing how much you care is not only important on holidays and special occasions; it should be done every day of the year. You don't have to spend a lot of money, effort, or time showing someone you love him or her, either. Here are a few simple and special ways to show a cancer patient that you care:

For Young Children and Teenagers

• Make something special (a card, a memory book, a photo album of your favorite memories, or anything you know how to make). (See the Crafts section in this article.)

• Draw pictures and decorate his or her room with them.

• Bring games and play together.

• Share your favorite stuffed animal or toy.

• Write a poem about how much you love that person.

• Write a story and read it aloud to him or her.

• Make a tape of his or her favorite songs and listen to them together.

• Read a book to him or her to help the time pass more quickly.

• Bring your sibling or friend magazines with pictures of their favorite celebrities/singers. You can decorate the room with his or her favorite pictures.

• Make treats and eat them together. (See the Easy Recipes section of this article.)

• Help out around the house or offer to take care of younger siblings when needed.

• Give your mom or sister a makeover, manicure, or pedicure.

For Adults

• Write them a powerful letter full of love and hope.

• Take care of some of their responsibilities (i.e. watch their kids, do their laundry, cook them dinner, go shopping) whatever you can manage to help make things easier.

• Call often to remind them how much you love them and how you are always thinking of them.

• When you visit, bring a book to read aloud or a movie to watch together.

• Bring them pictures of your times together and hang them where they can be viewed all the time.

• Spend time reminiscing about the fun times that you've shared (as children, in high school, college, vacations, etc). Remind him or her that there will be more good times in the future.

For Parents

• Be very affectionate with them whether they are ill or not.

• Have a special day and let them plan an event or activity. (See the Crafts section of this article.)

• Take them on a picnic or have a family movie night with popcorn and other special treats.

• Help your child make a card or collage for his or her ill sibling or parent. (See the Crafts section of this article.)

• Share happy stories with your children (i.e. how you met, what your wedding was like, the day when they were born.)

• Spend time making treats together and then share them with others. (See the Easy Recipes section of this article.)

• If a child has to miss a school dance or other activity, recreate it in your house or at the hospital.

For Spouses

• Tell your spouse that he or she is beautiful and sexy. Patients who are undergoing chemotherapy may have low self-esteem due to hair loss and weight loss. It is important for you as their spouse to remind them that they are still attractive. Try to direct their focus to their healthy features.

• Fill his or her room with lots of photos of the two of you together.

• Have a candlelight dinner in bed.

• Bathe together or give your spouse a bath (use rose pedals and aromatherapy candles).

• Write a romantic love letter or poem. Really let your spouse know how you feel. Recreate a special day or moment in your relationship.

• Reminisce about the day you met, how you fell in love, and other special moments in your lives. Read to your spouse from a book of love poems.

• Be as affectionate as you can. Speak to the doctor about what you can safely do. Try to be as close to your spouse as possible. Hug as much as you can, hold his or her hand, caress his or her arms and legs, kiss him or her often and anywhere you can, and rekindle your sexual relationship once the doctor permits it.

Always remember you are one of the main reasons why this person wants to keep fighting and beat his or her illness. Being loving and supportive everyday are the two most important things you can do.

Crafts

Making a Card

Cards are very easy to make and you can decorate them any way you choose. You will need construction paper and any other supplies that you wish to use. Take a piece of construction paper (any color) and fold it in half. Keep it folded and decide which side will be the front. Here are some ideas for decorating your card:

1. Using crayons or markers, write a message on the front and/or the inside of the card (i.e. "I love you," "Get well soon," "I miss you" or anything you feel like writing.)

2. If you have glitter and glue, you can lightly draw a picture or design with the glue and then sprinkle the glitter over it. Once you have covered all of the glue, shake the extra glitter off. Be careful not to make a mess!

3. You can use paints and paint a picture on the front of the card. You can use a paintbrush or you can finger paint your picture. If you don't have paint ask an adult to make you some pudding and paint with that instead.

4. With help from an adult, you can trace different shapes on a separate piece of paper and then cut them out and paste them onto your card. You can also cut different pictures, shapes, and words out of a magazine and paste them onto your card.

Once you have decorated the outside of your card, let it dry if it needs to and then decorate the inside too!

Memory Book or Photo Album

You will need a few sheets of construction paper (any color), some yarn, a whole puncher, and any other supplies you may wish to use. Decide how many pages you will want your book or album to be and use that amount of construction paper. Stack the paper in a pile and using the hole puncher, make 2 holes in one side of the stack of paper. One hole should be near the top and the other should be near the bottom. Then take two pieces of yarn and string one through each hole. Tie each piece in a knot or a bow and you have a book or an album. You can put what ever you want to in your memory book or photo album. If you are going to use family pictures, you should ask an adult if it is okay first. You can also cut pictures out of magazines and newspapers. You can decorate your book or album in any way that you choose. For ideas read the instructions on how to make a card.

Tissue Paper Flowers

Cut squares of tissue paper (at least ten sheets) and make them a little bigger than you'd like the flower to be. They can be different colors or all the same.

Stack the squares and make a crease down the center to create two rectangles. Take a pipe cleaner and wrap it tightly along this line so that the tissue paper gets cinched together. The tissue paper will look like two fans, or butterfly wings. Next, Pull the tissue paper one sheet at a time upward until all the sheets are fanned out and you will have a beautiful flower. If you wish, you can spray the flower with perfume to give it a real flower scent!

Easy Recipes

Cat's Eyes

½ cup peanut butter

8 Ritz® crackers

1 banana; cut into 8 slices

8 raisins

Spread peanut butter on crackers and top each with a slice of banana. Place a raisin in the center of each banana to form a cat's eye and repeat for all banana-topped crackers.

Cheese Puffers

2 cups unbleached (wheat) flour

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

2 cups grated sharp cheese

4 cups Rice Krispies®

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Cream the flour, butter, and cheese together in a large bowl. Add Rice Krispies and mix into a sticky dough. Using your hands, shape Puffers into small balls. Bake until golden, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool. Makes about 4-5 dozen.

Chompin' Chow

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup butter or margarine

6 oz chocolate chips

10 cups Corn Chex® cereal

2 cups powdered sugar

Melt peanut butter, butter or margarine, and chocolate chips in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour over Corn Chex and make sure that all cereal is coated. Put 2 cups powdered sugar in a large paper bag. Put cereal in bag and shake gently until all cereal is coated. Pour out on wax paper to cool.

Chocolate No Bake Cookies

½ cup butter

2 cups sugar

½ cup water

2 tablespoons cocoa

½ cup peanut butter

3 cups oatmeal or 1 cup coconut

Mix butter, sugar, water and cocoa together, bring to a boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and oatmeal or coconut. Drop on wax paper and let harden.

Monkey Cookies

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 eggs

2 bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Add the butter or margarine and mix well. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 400° F oven for 12 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.

No-Bake Peanut Squares

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

4 cups corn flakes

4 cups Cheerios®

1 cup peanuts

In a 2 quart pan melt together just until smooth the first three ingredients, stirring constantly. Do not boil. Remove from heat. Measure the last three ingredients into a large bowl. Pour over peanut butter mixture. Stir, coating cereal and nuts. Spread into buttered large pan and let it cool then cut it into squares and serve.

Painted Heart Sugar Cookies

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon water

Food coloring

Slice and Bake Sugar Cookie dough

In a small cup, mix the egg yolk and water, then add drops of food coloring until you've reached the color you want. Slice a roll of Sugar Cookie dough and place them about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Using a small, clean paintbrush, paint onto unbaked sugar cookies and then bake them according to the package directions.