Supporting and Caring for Your Spouse or Partner Facing a Health Challenge
- Reality TV star Sharon Osbourne, 71, revealed she’s only appearing in five episodes of “Celebrity Big Brother” because she needs to be at home with her rockstar husband Ozzy Osbourne, 75, to help care for him.
- Ozzy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003. It’s an incurable “brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination,” according to the National Council on Aging. Symptoms for this chronic illness tend to worsen over time.
- Sharon Osbourne was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2002. During stage 3, the cancer has spread beyond the colon. She underwent surgery to remove part of her intestine and chemotherapy for treatment. She also underwent a preventative double mastectomy. She opted for the procedure after learning she had a genetic mutation that increased her chances of developing breast cancer.
- A caregiver may be a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a close friend, or a child. This special person often assumes multiple roles to make the life of their loved one battling cancer easier.
- Examples of caregiver activities may include attending doctor visits, helping the patient take notes and ask questions, providing transportation to treatment, and helping with everyday activities such as preparing meals.
- Mental health professionals are available to caregivers, too, who are managing a slew of new responsibilities. Joining a caregiver support group can also help prevent or reduce the risk of caregiver burnout.
Reality TV star Sharon Osbourne, 71, is making waves for her limited appearances on this season’s “Celebrity Big Brother” show. She appears for only five days because she has another important family obligation – caring for her rockstar husband, Ozzy Osbourne, 75.
The “Black Sabbath” rocker is living with Parkinson’s Disease, which is an incurable “brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination,” according to the National Council on Aging. Symptoms for this chronic illness tend to worsen over time.
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“I don’t want to stay away from Ozzy for too long. We’re so close as a family,” Sharon said to the U.K.-based news outlet “The Sun.”
Sharon may assume multiple roles as a caregiver to make Ozzy’s life easier despite his diagnosis.
Helping Care for Your Loved Ones
The Critical Role of Cancer Caregivers
Many cancer patients are encouraged to build a support group to help them through their cancer journey. Sometimes, close members of that support group may be caregivers. This particular person may be a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a close friend, or a child. A caregiver often assumes multiple roles to help make their beloved cancer patient’s life easier.
RELATED: Where Cancer Caregivers Can Get Help With Finances: Coping With the Bills
Cancer caregivers may:
- Attend doctor visits with the patient
- Help the patient take notes/ask questions
- Provide transportation to and from treatment
- Accompany the patient during treatment
- Help keep track of side effects
- Link up with a social worker/patient navigator
- Help with day-to-day activities
- Provide emotional support
Caregivers should know that although their cancer warrior relies on them, they also need support from time to time. Social workers and patient advocates may be available and can help guide you through treatment options, financial assistance, and mental health resources.
“Patient navigators can function differently at different hospitals,” Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph, a surgical oncologist at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet. “We have a really wonderful program at [NYU] where we used lay navigators, meaning they’re not nurses, although you can use nurses or social workers that pretty much help newly diagnosed cancer patients through the continuum of care.”
Ozzy’s Diagnosis
Ozzy has been living with Parkinson’s disease since 2003. It’s an incurable “brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination,” according to the National Council on Aging. Symptoms for this chronic illness tend to worsen over time.
His condition has caused him to cancel tour dates to focus on his health. He publicly revealed he was dealing with the chronic disease in 2020, although he was diagnosed in 2003. His journey included several surgeries, including one last year that removed and realigned pins in his neck and back, according to Page Six entertainment outlet. Before surgery, Ozzy dealt with nerve pain, blood clots, depression, and staph infections.
More recently, the “Black Sabbath” frontman was seen in Los Angeles in a wheelchair. At the time, he declared that he wouldn’t be undergoing any more surgeries, the New York Post reports.
Sharon said it’s “heartbreaking” to see her husband not be “self-sufficient.”
Sharon’s Colon Cancer Journey
Sharon Osbourne was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2002. During stage 3, the cancer has spread beyond the colon.
The most poignant signature of colon cancer is a change in bowel habits. Changes in the size or shape of bowel movements may cause constipation or diarrhea. A change in stool color, particularly black or tarry stools, can indicate bleeding from a tumor deep in the colon.
WATCH: Colon cancer symptoms.
Other symptoms can be harder to pinpoint, such as abdominal pain and unintentional weight loss. Finally, some tumors bleed a small amount over a long period of time, resulting in anemia (low red blood cell count) that is picked up on blood work.
For treatment, Sharon underwent surgery to remove a foot of the large intestine and some surrounding lymph nodes. She needed chemotherapy to kill any cancerous cells left behind. With a powerful support group filled with loved ones, she was able to overcome the cancer and beat it.
Osbourne also underwent a preventable double mastectomy, a procedure where breast tissue is removed to prevent cancer from developing in the future. She opted for the procedure after learning she had a genetic mutation that increased her chances of developing breast cancer.
WATCH: Understanding preventative mastectomies.
A prophylactic, or preventative, mastectomy is an operation where the breast tissue is removed to prevent cancer from developing in the future.
“A double mastectomy typically takes about two hours for the cancer part of the operation, the removing of the tissue,” Dr. Elisa Port, Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System, tells SurvivorNet. “The real length, the total length of the surgery, can often depend on what type of reconstruction [a patient] has.”
Other factors that weigh into the decision to get a mastectomy are the size and features of the tumor and your family history. However, the gravity of your decision comes into full view, especially if you choose to get a mastectomy and remove both of your breasts.
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