Looking after yourself

If you are a family member or friend of someone who has mesothelioma, you may be a carer. You may help with their everyday needs, such as:

cooking meals
helping around the house
helping them with washing and bathing.

You may be very happy to do this, but there may be times when you need some extra support.

Caring for someone you love can be emotionally and physically difficult. If you have been looking after them for some time, you may start to feel tired. It can help to talk about how you are feeling. You could talk to a friend or other family member.

There are also many health and social care professionals who can support you and the person you are caring for. You can speak to your GP, or the specialist nurse involved in your friend or relative’s care. They can help make sure you are both getting the support you need.

It is important to take a break sometimes. This means letting someone else care for the person you look after for a while. This is called respite care.

Getting support can also help your relationship with the person with cancer. Your relationship may have changed since you started looking after them. Having some help with caring may allow you to spend more time being a family member, partner or friend to your loved one.

It is important to look after yourself, as well as the person you are caring for. Try to make sure you eat well and keep active. When you get time off from caring, try to relax. Doing something you enjoy can help give you more energy and help you cope. You could also spend time just sitting with and talking to the person you are caring for. This can be very rewarding.

We have more information on caring for someone with cancer.

Financial help

If you are a carer, you may be able to get to financial help, such as Carer’s Allowance. You can get more information about this benefit, and any others that you may be entitled to. You can speak to one of our money advisers for free on 0808 808 00 00 - available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

If your family member or friend is making a compensation claim, it may be possible to get a short-term payment to help pay for some of their care. If they would like to consider this, they should discuss it with a solicitor.

Coroner's inquest

There may come a time when treatments are no longer working for your family member or friend, and you have to prepare for their death. When a person with mesothelioma dies, the doctor must inform the coroner (or procurator fiscal in Scotland). The coroner will carry out a coroner's inquest. This is a legal investigation into the circumstances surrounding a person’s death. At such a difficult time, it can be even harder if you did not expect this.

Mesothelioma support groups

Some people find it helps to talk with others who have been affected by mesothelioma. Mesothelioma UK also has a list of local support groups and a free helpline.

Macmillan is here to support you. If you would like to talk, you can:

Call the Macmillan Support Line for free on 0808 808 00 00.
Chat to our cancer information and support specialists online.
Visit our mesothelioma forum to talk with people who have been affected by mesothelioma, share your experience, and ask an expert your questions.

References

Below is a sample of the sources used in our mesothelioma cancer information. If you would like more information about the sources we use, please contact us at informationproductionteam@macmillan.org.uk

Kusamura S, Kepenekian V, Villeneuve L, Lurvink RJ, Govaerts K, De Hingh IHJT, Moran BJ, Van der Speeten K, Deraco M, Glehen O; PSOGI. Peritoneal mesothelioma: PSOGI/EURACAN clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Eur J Surg Oncol. 2021 Vol, 47(1) pp6-59. [accessed April 2024].

Popat, S., Baas P., Faivre-Finn, C., Girard, N., Nicholson, A., Nowak, A., Opitz, I., Scherpereel, A, and Reck, M. 2021. ESMO Pleural mesothelioma guidelines. Malignant pleural mesothelioma: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Available from: https://www.annalsofoncology.org/action/showPdf [accessed April 2024].

Cancer Information Development team

Author

Dr David Gilligan

Reviewer

Consultant Clinical Oncologist

Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge

Date reviewed

Reviewed: 01 February 2025

|

Next review: 01 February 2028

The language we use

We want everyone affected by cancer to feel our information is written for them.

We want our information to be as clear as possible. To do this, we try to:

use plain English
explain medical words
use short sentences
use illustrations to explain text
structure the information clearly
make sure important points are clear.

We use gender-inclusive language and talk to our readers as ‘you’ so that everyone feels included. Where clinically necessary we use the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ or ‘male’ and ‘female’. For example, we do so when talking about parts of the body or mentioning statistics or research about who is affected.

You can read more about how we produce our information here.