One less-obvious stressor that many women face as they undergo chemotherapy is the stress of responsibilities piling up as they're unable to cover them. Friends often pull together to meals to families affected by chemotherapy treatments, but few women would feel comfortable asking for help with housecleaning, and few women facing chemotherapy feel well enough to scrub toilets between treatments. Unfortunately, a messy house can become a stressor in itself, as clutter can cause stress in several ways.
Knowing this, I was very excited to find out about a non-profit organization that brings free house-cleaning help to women facing chemotherapy. They offer free general cleaning once a month for four months to qualified applicants. Because women experiencing chemotherapy may find themselves at home more as they recover, and may feel much less able to clean, this can not only help shoulder the burden of housework when they're unable to keep up, but it can help create a more serene environment in which to recover. While I don't have personal experience with this organization, I thought that it could provide such nice stress relief benefits for those who need it, I wanted to be sure to help spread the word.
The organization, Cleaning For A Reason, can be used in a few different ways
- If you're a woman facing chemotherapy, here is more information on how to apply.
- If you're a cleaning service that would like to help, you could do something good in the world and get some extra exposure for your business at the same time. Here's what you need to know.
- If you would like to help make a difference for women undergoing chemotherapy and would like to help this organization, you can sponsor a maid service to make it possible for women to get this help. (It starts at $30 to help two women in a month.)
