Exploring the Dynamics of a Male Cancer Caregiver in a Society That Encourages Men to Be Independent

Kyle Woody understands the sacrifice and emotional challenges of being forced to step up as a primary caregiver for a loved one experiencing a health crisis. As the primary caregiver to his late wife who died from cancer, he experienced first-hand the unique challenges that arise due to the way societal norms affect how men think and feel about being a caregiver.

In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Woody discusses his inspiration for starting Jack’s Caregiver Coalition, a nonprofit organization designed to support men through the caregiving journey, and why that’s so important.

“It tends to be a thing, the female approach, when they encounter adversity, to reach out and surrender and sort of say to their friends and their community, ‘I don't know how to navigate this. I need your help. I need your support.’ And that’s what works,” Woody said. “And so my own experience was just not asking — I never asked anyone for help. Everyone was asking how they could help, which was hard, because to me that was a sign of weakness that I even needed it.”

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