I think about this a lot. I'm not a greatly social person but each time I've had cancer the right number of people have turned up to help out ... mainly just friendship and someone to talk to. Another biggie was the 6 weeks of transport to radiation treatments. I was nervous about relying on the wonderful volunteer drivers and had a number of offers for lifts but it often meant people taking time off work. In the end I had the vol drivers for almost half the time, a friend stayed for a week and my eldest son worked from home at my place for a week. That working from home if you're in an IT based job has been very useful for me because during my two surgeries and their aftermath I had my youngest son who lives in the UK stay with me for 6 weeks and work from home. He worked very hard but was always there to drive me wherever I needed to go and make me mango lassis, something I craved while in hospital.
My most recent cancer treatment was my first without a spouse/partner for support. It's very hard going through it all alone with no-one constantly at hand to bounce ideas off if you've got a concern, drive you to the hospital or make you a cup of tea. But I got through it, thanks to support and now want to give back. I won't apply to be a volunteer driver though because I fear driving in the city!