​ACS has available a breadth of resources and info specific to caregivers.

November kicks off several awareness months and key external moments for ACS. Here are a few things you may not know and what you can do to help mark one of these occasions.

National Family Caregiver Awareness Month

A cancer diagnosis affects close friends and family, too. Caregivers may be partners, family members, or close friends. Most often, they’re not trained for the caregiver job. Many times, they’re the lifeline of the person with cancer and an extension of the health care team.

Caregivers have many roles, and these roles change as the patient’s needs change during and after cancer treatment. No matter what stage of the cancer journey, caregivers have a huge influence on how their loved one deals with their illness. Caregivers are a key reason why someone’s cancer journey is not walked alone.

Caring for someone with cancer, taking on new responsibilities, and worrying about the future can be exhausting at the very least, and it can quickly lead to burnout. When you’re busy caring for your loved one, it’s important to take care of yourself, too. Eating healthy, getting regular exercise, and making time for self-care can help in keeping some balance in your life during this stressful time. And, don’t forget to stay up to date on your own cancer screenings.

What you should know

• As of April 2022, ACS is currently investing almost $13 million in research that includes family members and caregivers through 19 grants.
• Since 1998, the American Cancer Society has invested nearly $44 million in research that includes family members and caregivers of persons with cancer.
• Since January 2021, there have been just over 200,000 unique visits to cancer.org/caregivers, including both English and Spanish sites.
• Since January 2021, there have been nearly 16,000 views of the Interactive Caregiver Resource Guide content, with almost 1,100 downloads.
• As of June 2022, the caregiver support video series has received nearly 130,000 views, with the English version accounting for about 75% of the views and the Spanish version about 25%.

What you can do

Help ACS use this month as an opportunity to recognize and support caregivers: 

• Honor a caregiver by donating in their name on cancer.org/donate.
• Thank a caregiver on social media using the hashtag #ThankACaregiver or amplify social posts from ACS brand channels. Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer will also be posting about caregivers on social, so look for opportunities to amplify those messages, too.
• Encourage others to access caregiver resources and information at cancer.org/Caregiver.