A good social support network usually includes family, friends, community members and others who provide physical, practical and emotional help.
Just as individuals need different levels of social support, people around them are likely to react to those needs in different ways. Some people have family and friends who rally around and cannot do enough for them. Others find the people they most depend on withdraw because it is all too distressing for them, or they do not know how to help.
| Fact |
People with advanced cancer and their caregivers, who feel that they have a good support network tend to cope better with their diagnosis and generally have a better quality of life than those who do not have such back-up. |
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Life, Hope & Reality was developed and written by Afaf Girgis, Claire Johnson, and Sylvie Lambert with funding from the NHMRC and Cancer Council NSW.
Last updated 30 August 2015