What help can a parish give during cancer treatment?

More than most people ask for. Parishes commonly organize meals, rides to appointments, and help with children. They also do yard work and household jobs, hospital and home visits, home Communion, and prayer. Some parishes have a Saint Vincent de Paul conference. Where they do, there is often a small fund for practical costs.

Almost none of it happens without a request. Most parishes have no idea who in the congregation is currently in treatment. When help does not come, it is usually a problem of information rather than willingness.

Two things make the ask work. First, be specific. Concrete requests get filled and open-ended ones do not. Ask for rides on Tuesdays and Thursdays for six weeks. Ask for two meals a week left at the door, or someone to cut the grass twice a month. Second, appoint a coordinator who is not you and not your main caregiver. Then running the rota does not become another job for the person with the least room for it.

Decide before you call what you want made public, and say it plainly. Parishes will respect a request not to be named in the bulletin. But they cannot guess.

Sources

• National Cancer Institute — Support for Caregivers of Cancer Patients
• American Cancer Society — Find Support Programs and Services in Your Area
• National Cancer Institute — End-of-Life Care for People Who Have Cancer