Caregivers, or care partners, often feel overly taxed by their duties. Remember, once you board a plane, you are always advised to put on your oxygen mask first before assisting your loved ones. The same rule is true for care partners. Listed here are some resources that will help you 'catch your breath' in your role as a care partner:

• Care Partners, a Tip Card from the IMF
• Caregivers Need Care Too, a presentation from the IMF
• Being Your Own Caregiver, a presentation from the IMF
• Caring for the Caregiver, a booklet from the National Cancer Institute 
• Emotional Freedom Techniques a.k.a Tapping
• As part of a larger program for multiple myeloma patients from WebMD, IMF Vice President of Support Groups Robin Tuohy, a myeloma care partner since 2000, talks about caring for the care partner. Visit now at WebMD.
• Whole-body Wellness
  • the IMF's Mind, Body, and Wellness site
  • Help for Cancer Caregivers
• This article from the medical journal Blood Advances gives insight into a care partner's unique psychosocial issues. Quality of Life, Psychological Distress, and Prognostic Perceptions in Caregivers of Patients with Multiple Myeloma
• Spiritual Resources
  • Living Well with Myeloma: Building Your Resilience Through Difficult Times

Maybe you need help with household chores or cooking. Perhaps you need a better way to track your loved one's medical records. The following resources will help you on your care partner journey:

• An IMF presentation on The Role of the Caregiver
• A video on How to Keep Electronic Medical Records
• A presentation on What I Wish I Had Known When My Loved One Was First Diagnosed
• A document with Reflections from Caregivers
• Guidance on How to Create a Caregiver Support Group
• Living Well with Myeloma videos focused on Care Partners:
  • Psychosocial Care: Common Support Needs and Coping Skills
  • Making Sense of Test Results
  • IMF Nurse Leadership Board Members Address Key Patient and Caregiver Questions
• Household assistance
  • Cleaning for a Reason
  • Home Delivery of Meals for Cancer Patient
• Further reading
  • Suggested Reading List for Caregivers

Maybe you are a parent with young children or teens, or a spouse or partner who must share your myeloma diagnosis with your loved one. Talking about cancer is never easy, but it is always necessary. The following links provide options on how to share your diagnosis with your loved ones, as well as how you can steer through living with a disease together. 

• Cancer Support Community: What Do I Tell the Kids?
• MM Families Resource and Resiliency Toolkit, resources on resilience in multiple myeloma care
• Talking with Children and Grandchildren About Cancer
• Caregivers and Family, a resource from the American Cancer Society
• Atlas of Care: Research, Data, and Solutions for Family Caregiving
• It's Okay  — This book was written by Abigail McLaughlin when she was in sixth grade. She wrote this as a school assignment, shortly after her father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. 

The picture of medical coverage for a patient varies on a case-by-case basis, and navigating the cost of care often falls in the hands of care partners. While some patients have private insurance, others are on state-administered plans. Some may be on COBRA plans from previous employers, or transitioning to the federal Medicare program. For some patients, the cost of myeloma drugs may require coverage assistance. Visit the following links to learn more:

• drug reimbursement information and assistance
• financial assistance
• government programs
• legal assistance
• Video: How to get financial help for myeloma patients and caregivers

Palliative care may be needed at any time during treatment but is most often needed at the end stage of the disease. When a patient has tried and exhausted the full range of approved and experimental treatments available, and the myeloma has become refractory or resistant to treatment, it’s time to weigh in on the pros and cons of continuing versus stopping treatment. Each patient must make the decision on their own. 

• Provided in the IMF's Palliative Care section is information to help you plan at this time of need.
• Get Palliative Care
• Hospice Care, a resource from the Mayo Clinic

The IMF has culled the best information from external resources and peer organizations to help guide you through your caregiving journey: 

• Facing Forward, a publication for cancer care partners
• Communication for the Cancer Care Partner, a resource from the American Cancer Society
• Caregiver Action Network
• CaringBridge (a good resource for long-distance caregiving)
• Family Caregiver Alliance
• Lotsa Helping Hands