It’s hard to help someone who won’t help themselves.

One would-be caretaker struggled as they watched their sick mother wrestle putting down the cigarettes.

They wondered if they could really support such self-destructive behavior, or whether they should step up and look past it.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for refusing to be my mom’s caretaker?

AITA for telling my mom that I refuse to take care of her or take her to her chemotherapy if she continues to smoke?

With her illness, this habit could make her condition even worse.

She has stage I cancer and I feel like it’s not fair for her to expect me to be her caretaker and support person if she doesn’t even take care of herself.

Love should be unconditional, but it’s pretty darn tough sometimes.

What did Reddit have to say?

It appears some people prefer to go out with a bang.

This user challenges the would-be caretaker to look inward at their true emotions.

This user doesn’t think it’s fair for the caretaker to force their mother to quit.

Flaws and all, maybe it’s time to step up and care for their mother.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand the choices our loved ones make, but at the end of the day, they are their choices, not ours.

The situation is far from perfect, but sometimes love and frustration just have to walk hand in hand.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.