There is possibly nothing more difficult than managing house chores and cleaning when you’re trying to fight a debilitating disease. These are the first-hand account from women undergoing cancer treatment. That is why our team at Dura-Shine Clean partnered with Cleaning for a Reason nearly eight years ago. Cleaning for a Reason is a nonprofit organization serving the entire United States and Canada. The organization partners with professional cleaning companies and maid services to help women undergoing treatment for any type of cancer.
To date, the organization has provided more than 17,000 cleanings for women with cancer with a value of more than $4.5 million in donated cleanings, and partnered with over 1,100 maid services. Since we began our partnership we’ve offered free house cleanings to more than 300 women in the Tri-Cities WA area.
Although we strive to raise awareness of our services and our partnership with the Cleaning for a Reason in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our promise to help female cancer patients is a year-long commitment and is not limited to just breast cancer. According to American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. About 1 in 8 (12%) women in the US will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer.
Helping with cleaning is our way of saying to cancer patients they don’t have to fight this battle alone — so we don our pink and get scrubbing and polishing! Know someone in your life undergoing cancer treatment or battling an illness of any kind? You can also do your part to help. Here are five things you can do:
Things you can do to help women undergoing cancer treatment:
● Buy you friend groceries: One of the hardest things to do is take care of the little errands of everyday life. Help your friend out by asking her what she likes to eat, and any special dietary restriction, and go to the store and buy her some groceries. You can email the list to other close friends, and coordinate shopping.
● Offer to help take her kids to activities: When a friend is undergoing cancer treatment and they have little ones at home, keeping life as normal as possible for them can prove difficult. Offer to take her kids to activities, to the park, on a play date, or just offer to watch after them.
● Offer your help, an invite, or company without strings attached. Cancer patients have a lot to think about, so they don’t need to fret about scheduling a meeting with a friend, entertaining you if you’re bringing by food, or giving back that Tupperware to store the casserole you gave her. That is why open-ended offers are the best. Your friend will take you up on the offer when she needs it. She’ll even appreciate you offering to drop off grocery at her doorstep.
● Send the message. You can do smaller things too, to show you care. Like sending her an empowering, uplifting, and supportive email or text. Cards are nice too, but just showing her you’re thinking about her is important.
● Be silly and fun. It doesn’t always have to be useful; you can do things for her just for the sake of being fun or silly. Doing fun things like offering her a spa day, a photo shoot, sleepover, or just a friend to share funny stories with, will help take her mind off cancer.
Know a woman who is undergoing cancer treatment and could benefit from a clean home? Call Dura-Shine Clean at (509) 543-9608. Dura-Shine Clean is the leading commercial and residential cleaning company in the Tri-Cities. We service the Tri-Cities WA (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco) and beyond.
