HOME VOLUNTEERS: A PSYCHOLOGICAL  SUPPORT The volunteers’ presence in the family must be a relief, as well as a psychological and practical support, for the patient and his relatives in order to better face and handle such a dramatic event as a terminal disease. The volunteer’s presence is effective only if he/she is always ready to help: a difficult moment is the first contact between the patient and his family: a volunteer must be able to “ break the ice”, he/she must succeed in getting over the embarrassment that many people often have towards those who are at their disposal without making any profit out of it. Not only his/her words, but also his/her behaviour will create a satisfactory relationship that will let him/her be accepted and trusted by everybody.

His/her fitting in a family that is going through a deep crisis caused by a disease upsetting every pre-existent balance, must serve as a moderating element for any possible strain, without any attempt on his/her side to modify the existing relations and roles. A volunteer will try to appeal on all that still gets a grip on the patient, on his hobbies, to captivate him and take his mind off the obsession of his illness.
He/she will always be willing to listen to the patient when he feels like “ telling all about  himself.” He/she will always be ready to “listen” to and to share the patient’s silence, giving his/her unconditional support to the way the cancer patient chooses to live his illness.