Supporting a Woman You Love Through Cancer

— A Re-Femme Guide for Caregivers, Partners & Friends

You may not have expected to become the one who stands beside her through chemo infusions, early-morning appointments, surgery decisions, hair-loss emotions, or the million little unknowns that show up in a cancer journey.

But here you are — showing up. Looking for resources. Wanting to help. And that matters more than you think.

Caregiving isn't something any of us train for. It’s learned in the waiting rooms. In the late-night searching. In the gentle way you hold space when she’s too exhausted to speak. This guide is here to help you feel a little less unsure and a lot more equipped to love her through this.

First Step: Understand What She’s Facing

A breast cancer diagnosis comes with new language — hormone status, HER2, receptors, pathology results — and it can feel like medical alphabet soup.

You don’t need to know everything. You just need to learn enough to walk beside her.

• Ask for copies of her pathology report.
• Write down questions as they come up.
• Learn her treatment plan with her — not for her.

Knowledge helps you support her — emotionally, intellectually, and logistically. It turns fear into grounded awareness.

Treatment Decisions Aren’t Just Medical — They’re Human

Surgery, chemo, cold capping, reconstruction, radiation — these decisions weigh heavily, and sometimes she may need someone to help her think through options without pressure.

Supporting her through treatment can look like:

• Sitting beside her in appointments.
• Taking notes when she’s overwhelmed.
• Asking the questions she’s too tired to ask.
• Listening — truly listening — when she’s unsure.

Your presence isn’t small. It anchors her.

Where Caregiving Often Starts: Daily Life

Cancer doesn’t pause real life — bills still come, laundry piles up, kids need to eat, and insurance paperwork builds like a Jenga tower.

Sometimes the most meaningful support isn’t grand — it’s practical:

• Paying bills or setting up autopay.
• Feeding pets and handling small daily tasks.
• Calling the insurance company and tracking authorizations.
• Keeping a calendar of appointments and treatments.
• Stocking the house with foods and drinks she can actually tolerate.

Caregiving is everyday love made visible.

After Surgery: Comfort Is Care

Whether she’s had a lumpectomy, mastectomy, or reconstruction, recovery takes patience, time, and help.

You can support her post-op by:

• Creating a cozy recovery space with pillows, blankets, and essentials within reach.
• Driving her to follow-up appointments.
• Preparing soft, nourishing meals and snacks.
• Helping with drain care or dressing changes if she needs assistance.
• Simply sitting with her — even quietly — so she doesn’t feel alone.

Surgery isn’t just physical healing — it’s emotional processing too.

When the Cancer Is Metastatic

Metastatic breast cancer looks different. Treatment is often ongoing, energy may fluctuate, and emotions can shift daily.

Support in this season can include:

• Being a safe place for honest, unfiltered conversation.
• Talking openly about financial, legal, and practical realities without fear.
• Helping her maintain joy, normalcy, and a sense of self beyond the diagnosis.
• Respecting her choices, boundaries, and what “quality of life” means to her.

Continuous care is sacred work. You don’t need to fix everything — you simply need to stay.

A Powerful Way to Help: Create a Cancer Care Registry for Her

One of the hardest parts for many women is answering the question, “What do you need?” when friends and family ask how to help. It’s overwhelming to think through chemo, surgery, radiation, recovery, and everyday life — and then turn that into a list.

This is where you, as a caregiver, can make a huge difference.

With Re-Femme, she can build a personalized cancer care registry — and you can help her set it up. Instead of random gifts that might never get used, her registry can include:

• Comfort items for chemo, surgery, and recovery.
• Gift cards for meals, groceries, or rides.
• Cold capping, wig, or wellness funds that friends and family can contribute to.
• Recovery essentials that support her before, during, and after treatment.

A registry takes the guesswork out of helping. It gives friends and family a clear, loving way to show up — and it gives her permission to receive support without having to repeatedly ask for it.