Hi....
i just found out one of my closest friends may be really sick will a (seriouse) illness - and besides for that her family is going through a really hard time.
any ideas of what i can do to cheer her up?
thanks........

I wouldn't buy or send her anything. I'd just be there for her. If she's well enough to go out, take her out for lunch and spend some time...maybe she'll want to talk, maybe not. Don't try to force her to talk about anything, but if you're just there, available and her friend, she may do just that. Sometimes you just need a shoulder to cry on. Even though she'd be sad, she just might feel a whole lot better. It's not always easy to do that with family, so giving her the opportunity to do it would be a big relief.

Take her to a movie (something really funny). Go to the park, go to a museum, go do whatever it is that you think that she enjoys. Don't make it a big "project" - don't tell her that you're doing it to make her feel better. Just ask her to spend a day with you out somewhere and see what she wants to do.

The gift of true friendship is far better than anything you could give or buy her!!!

Hope things turn out well for your friend!

I agree with Lydia. Just spending time with her and being there for her if she wants to talk is probably best for now. Some people, when they have just found out that they have a serious ailment, don't really want to be "cheered up" right away. They are busy focusing on themselves and coming to grips with what is going on. When a friend wants to cheer them up, that act of kindness can often times be misconstrued as not thinking that the illness is serious enough to worry about it. Seems silly, I know. But right now she needs someone she can talk to.

I was told a few years ago, by a friend who was facing cancer that the best thing I said to him was "I don't know if you want to talk about the medical stuff, if you do want to discuss it, I'm here, never think that my not asking means anything but that I want it to be your choice what we talk about and when."
Turns out half his friends would talk of nothing but the cancer, the other half did not want to deal at all with it....both groups made the choice for him about whether or not to talk about it.
Take from that what you can, along with my best wishes for you and your friend...and bless you for not scurrying away when things get hard.

I'm really sorry about your friend. Just being there for her in case she wants to talk means a lot.

The very hilarious TV show Family Guy is returning with a new season this Sunday at 9:00 on FOX. Go turn it on and watch and laugh together. It's hard not to like something about Family Guy.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy the movie is opening in theaters this Friday, too, if she can go to that.

A weekend full of potential laughs. Enjoy!

listen to these people. they all make very good suggestions. 2 years ago when my friend told me he had surosis of the liver. I had his back.
We talked about it for about 20 minutes, then never brought it up again.
The rest of the time was spent together, just watching Jerry Springer, NYPD Blue, Law & Order, and having BBQ's, drinking beer, listening to the oldies station and Janis Joplin.
Do things together and be with your friend as much as you can. Cherish these times for they are possibly very limited.
Talk about memories and have a good time. Because believe me, in the end there really isn't enough time. Just be there for your friend.