You don’t have to figure this out alone.
A free, task-oriented guide for anyone caring for someone with cancer for the first time. It helps you steady yourself and support your loved one, and was built with the help of many carers who’ve been where you are now. What helped them has been turned into small, practical steps.
100% free · No account needed · Nothing leaves your device
What’s inside the guide
Five short sections. Read them in order, or jump to what you need right now.
- New here? Start with this.How to use this guide
- 1Steadying YourselfEasing panic and overwhelm, and taking your first small steps
- 2Mapping the Road AheadAsking clinicians the right questions and organising your information
- 3Gaining KnowledgeResearching what matters without burning out
- 4Building SupportFinding who can help and sharing the load with family and friends
- 5Moving ForwardLegal and admin basics, and caring sustainably for the road ahead
Your place on this path is saved in this browser, on this device, and nowhere else.
A note from the creator
I created The Carer’s Compass after watching how hard the carers close to me worked to take care of their partners. It seemed to me that, whilst patients get a lot of resources, there is a gap for carers, even for something as simple as a “here’s where to go next”.
I watched my aunt take care of my uncle when I was a teenager, and a few years later I watched my mum take care of my dad, both of whom were diagnosed with cancer. I saw the mental pressure they endured and the toll it takes. I saw the feeling of responsibility, fear and, above all, the courage that a carer holds.
After my dad passed away, I began talking to other carers whose loved ones, whether a parent, a sibling, or a partner, were diagnosed with cancer. I began to understand their different experiences and how each person’s circumstances change the process.
In an attempt to weave together these common experiences, I created this short and simple guide, informed by each carer I spoke to, for a primary carer who doesn’t know where to start and hasn’t been in this position before. Everyone’s circumstances are different, and no single piece of information will solve everything, but I hope that a carer can at least take one thing from this guide. I hope that it continues to be shaped by carers and can, one day, become something more.
Adi
Your questions, answered.
We have designed this guide so that you can walk through it following your loved one’s diagnosis. The first section will help you take the initial steps to start processing your thoughts and sets you up to learn more in the following sections.
No. The guide is deliberately short and gentle. Each task is bite-sized, you can pause anytime, and you’ll never be forced to do everything at once. Our focus is to help you start taking steps in the right direction.
We focus on principles that apply across diagnoses (communication, admin, support, questions for clinicians), then point you to specialist info. You’ll learn the right questions to ask for your specific case.
Most people complete the essentials in 45–60 minutes across a few short sessions. Each step is 5–10 minutes. That said, there is no time requirement and you can go through it at your own pace.
No. Everything is open, free, and private. We don’t collect your data or require a login. Your progress is remembered only in your own browser, so use what you need and take what works for you.
That’s okay. Even one section can help. Every section can be printed or saved as a PDF, so you can keep your place on paper and come back whenever you’re ready.
We’re always open to feedback.
Email us at
team@thecarerscompass.com