Hospice Care For Cancer Patients In Dublin City, California
It is the goal of hospice care to provide people who are not anticipated to live more than six months with the maximum possible quality of life in their final months, weeks and days. A substantial portion of the job that hospices do is controlling cancer pain management. Hospices use a holistic approach that involves the mind, body and spirit and tackles many facets of this stage in a person’s life.
A cancer diagnosis can be a difficult one to overcome, and you may reach a point where therapies are no longer effective and a cure or remission is no longer a realistic prospect for you. If you are in that stage, the focus of your care may shift from curing the disease to ensuring that you have a peaceful and comfortable final day. Hospice cancer care fulfils these requirements in a compassionate and comprehensive manner that can benefit you and your family.
The majority of patients who receive hospice cancer care report that it is a highly pleasant experience that improves their overall quality of life during their final months of living. If you have been referred to hospice by your doctor, you can begin getting this vital care right away.
How Can A Cancer Patient’s Pain Be Assessed?
Pain is a big difficulty for many cancer patients, and it can have a negative influence on their overall quality of life. Furthermore, pain might impair a patient’s ability to sleep, making them feel even worse as a result of their discomfort.
In order to decide the best course of action to provide much-needed respite and allow patients to be more comfortable, hospice teams are trained in assessing their patients’ pain levels.
Some patients are able to communicate their level of pain to their healthcare providers. For example, the hospice care team can ask patients to rate their pain on a scale of 1 to 10 to obtain a sense of how much they are suffering in these situations.
In addition, caregivers are educated on how to recognize nonverbal symptoms of discomfort in the person they are caring for. Those who are unable to articulate their feelings, such as individuals suffering from dementia, will find this valuable; but those who are scared to say they are in pain will also find it useful. Pain scales that are not verbal can be used to assess the level of discomfort experienced by these people.
When A Patient Is In Pain, They May Show The Following Symptoms:
- Squeezing their eyes shut or blinking quickly.
- Pacing, fidgeting, or rocking are all examples of this.
- Withdrawing one’s self.
- Breathing more quickly.
- Refusing to accept medical treatment.
- As they spin or are positioned, they protect certain parts of their body.
- Their muscles are tense and tensely held in place.
- Making a whining or groaning sound.
Pain Medication For Hospice Patients
Medication plays an important role in the multifaceted approach that hospice takes to patient care, and in particular to the management of pain.
Acetaminophen or ibuprofen are often the first drugs prescribed to patients who are experiencing mild to severe discomfort.
However, for many cancer patients who have advanced disease, these solutions are insufficient in terms of pain relief.
As a result, many patients are prescribed opioids, which are significantly more potent. They function by binding to opioid receptors in the brain, which inhibits the perception of pain. They are useful in the treatment of moderate to severe pain. Hydromorphone, morphine, methadone, and oxycodone are just a few of the opioids that are regularly prescribed to hospice patients.
Opioids For Cancer Patients
The possibility for addiction is a major issue for many individuals when it comes to opioids, however this is not a concern for patients who are nearing the end of their lives.
It is extremely important that patients who get these medications are thoroughly monitored to ensure that the correct dosage is supplied and that side effects are kept to a minimal.
Patients may require higher dosages of these medications over time in order to achieve relief, and their care teams may need to make modifications or attempt an alternative method.
For example, the route of administration can be customized, with alternatives such as pills, patches, injections, and IVs, as well as both quick-acting and slow-release compositions for long-term comfort available.
As part of the hospice pain medication protocol, hospice care providers must make certain that a patient’s opioid medication is stored safely and is not being abused by other persons in the house.
Other Pain-Relieving Drugs For Hospice Patients
Patients may be given adjuvant analgesics, which are medications that are used in conjunction with opioids to relieve pain. Adjuvant analgesics are medications that are used in conjunction with opioids to relieve pain.
Steroids, for example, may be prescribed to individuals whose discomfort is caused by inflammation due to their anti-inflammatory properties. As a result, they are effective in the treatment of bone and nerve pain.
Anticonvulsants are yet another treatment option for some types of nerve-related pain that can be effective. A prescription for anti-anxiety medicine may be prescribed for discomfort that appears to be worsened by muscle spasms or stress.
It is possible for people with cancer that has spread to their bones to benefit from bisphosphonates by preventing fractures, which can reduce bone injury and discomfort. In the case of extreme pain, injections of local anesthetics may be necessary.
Where And How Often Will I Receive Care?
Each week, you and your family will be visited by members of the hospice team who will provide you and your loved ones with physical, spiritual, and emotional support. Although hospice cancer care is often provided in the patient’s home, it can also be provided in other settings, such as an assisted living facility or a nursing facility.
What Type of Care Will I Receive?
What you can expect throughout your time in hospice cancer care is outlined below.
Collaborative Care
You will be looked after by a team of professionals who have undergone extensive training, as well as by volunteers. The team will work closely with your oncologist and other medical professionals, and meetings will be held on a regular basis to keep everyone up to date on your condition.
In addition, you and your family will collaborate with the hospice team to develop a plan for your care that will include the objectives and actions that will be taken.
Comfort And Pain Management
One of the primary goals of hospice care is to ensure that you are as comfortable as possible. You will collaborate with a hospice nurse who specializes in pain management to ensure that you are receiving appropriate medicine that remains effective even as your pain levels fluctuate during your treatment plan. Alternatively, your hospice nurse can change or switch your medicine if it is no longer effective or is causing undesirable side effects.
Medical Equipment
Hospice will assist you in coordinating the purchasing, delivery, and setup of medical equipment and supplies that can help you feel more comfortable while in hospice care. In addition to wheelchairs and geriatric recliners, they may also provide you with shower chairs, hospital beds, and nebulizers. In addition, a hospice nurse will evaluate your needs and ensure that your equipment is delivered on schedule, while care personnel will check your supply usage and replenish supplies as needed.
Emergency Treatment
Hospices have nurses on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist with crises, providing patients and their families with the assurance that they will receive fast attention when urgent care is required.
Chaplain
Hospice includes the services of a chaplain who will assist you with your spiritual needs. Throughout your time in hospice cancer care, your chaplain will help you plan for, analyse, and address your spiritual requirements. As you near the end of your life, the chaplain’s services can assist you and your loved ones in finding peace and comfort in your surroundings.
Chaplains can assist you in exploring subjects such as the meaning of life and demonstrating the importance and good influence of your existence. They may not have all of the answers to life’s major concerns, but the conversations you have with them can assist you in reaching a more spiritually mature state of mind. The hospice chaplain will also assist your family in dealing with spiritual issues as well as processing emotions such as anger, guilt, perplexity, and sadness, among others.
The spiritual guidance you receive will be in accordance with your religious beliefs and your wishes. Chaplain services are fully optional, and you are free to change your mind at any point during your stay at the hotel.
Social Workers
Hospices employ social workers who are specially trained to provide emotional and psychosocial care to you and your family. He or she can assist you in coordinating the practicalities of your care, including negotiating with the Veterans Administration or your insurance company if necessary. They can also assist you with burial arrangements and other end-of-life considerations.
They can also listen to your issues and offer suggestions on how to resolve them. The topics in which they can provide counselling include advance directives, family relationships, grieving, and financial issues, to name a few examples.
Home Health Aides
Home health aides can assist you with activities of daily living such as laundry, changing your bed, and personal hygiene, if you require assistance with these activities.
Hospice Volunteers
An experienced hospice volunteer who is knowledgeable with end-of-life problems, confidentiality, and working with families will pay you a visit as well. They can be a source of companionship or discussion, as well as assistance in managing interpersonal relationships.
Helping with modest domestic chores, running errands, remaining by your side while your loved ones take a break, cooking light meals, and driving you to medical appointments are just a few of the services that volunteers may be able to provide.
Therapists
You may also receive visits from a variety of other sorts of therapists. In the case of a pet therapy volunteer, for example, he or she might bring a pet to your home for you to spend time with, which can help ease pain, lower blood pressure, and add some joy to your day.
In certain cases, music therapists will visit to your home and play an instrument for you, which can help you relax. Some may even take requests.
Massage therapist volunteers are also available at some hospices, who can assist with pain treatment and relaxation.
Emotional And Spiritual Approaches
Because hospice care is holistic in nature, it addresses the patient’s mind, body, and spirit. As a result, pain management is not limited to medication. It is critical to address emotional pain, such as worry, because it frequently occurs in conjunction with physical pain.
Anxiety can exacerbate physical symptoms of pain, and anxiety can exacerbate the body’s response to physical pain, making it critical to manage both simultaneously.
This may be accomplished by the administration of drugs such as Ativan or Valium, but hospice also provides visits from social workers and priests to fulfil the emotional and spiritual needs of those in the care facility.
In addition, hospice teams advise family members to be mindful of not adding to their loved one’s stress by arguing with them or being in their presence.
For More Information on Cancer Pain Management, Contact The Hospice Care Team
For those who are suffering from cancer or another terminal illness and have been given a prognosis of six months or less to live, hospice care may be an option for you or your family member.
Get in contact with the compassionate experts at Melodia Care Hospice to learn more about how they can assist your loved one in experiencing the maximum amount of comfort possible as their disease develops, and how they can help you.
You can reach us at any time by contacting us through our 24/7 online customer support chat or by calling 1-888 635-6347 (MELODI-7) & Melodia Care Hospice.