Hospice Care For Cancer Patients In San Francisco East Bay, California
When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, they, their family members and their caregivers are faced with a number of difficult choices. One of these is most likely whether or not to begin hospice care. Hospice care is always helpful that can assist patients and families achieve a higher quality of life with hospice and pain management, with the goal of making a person more comfortable as they confront the final months of their lives.
Hospice care for cancer patients is comparable to hospice care for other illnesses but it focuses more explicitly on treating cancer-specific symptoms and other features. Hospice care for cancer patients involves a specialized support team of professionals educated to support those under cancer care, in addition to providing any medication or equipment needed to help maintain a cancer patient’s quality of life.
A hospice nurse will make regular visits to your loved one’s home or assisted living facility to assist with pain management in hospice and palliative care and other cancer symptoms such as exhaustion, shortness of breath, cough and nausea. This allows your loved one to continue participating in day-to-day activities. A qualified home health aide will also assist your loved one with any duties that have become too difficult for them to complete alone, such as personal hygiene, meal preparation and light cleaning.
Non-medical support will be included in the team as well. Social workers in hospice care, for example, will assist your family in managing its dynamics, money, emotions and paperwork, including advance directives, if needed. They may also be able to connect you to extra resources that will make your experience more manageable. Hospice volunteers will be available to offer companionship to your loved one and spiritual support counsellors will be ready to offer prayer and advice throughout the difficult process.
When To Use Hospice Care?
When a cancer patient has less than six months to live, hospice care may be offered. There may be an additional requirement for cancer patients. In addition to having cancer, your loved one may be eligible for hospice care if they have accidentally lost a substantial amount of weight, need assistance with daily living activities or have a major medical condition that reduces their time left. The cancer’s stage and severity can also play a role. Depending on how far cancer has progressed and whether or not therapies have been successful, hospice care may be advised.
Hospice care can be started for a variety of reasons, including the patient’s own intentions to terminate curative therapy or avoid the hospital if the sickness worsens. Plan ahead of time with your loved one in case their illness worsens. If and when hospice care is required, the hospice care team will endeavor to expedite the registration process so that your loved one receives the treatments they require.
Pain Management
Pain management, as well as the control of side effects after cancer treatment, is vital for many cancer patients and survivors. When the discomfort and side effects of the sickness and its treatment become too severe to endure, it is necessary to seek medical attention. Those who find themselves in such a position may want to consider utilizing hospice services.
Someone who is having difficulty breathing, even while at rest or with increased oxygen levels or who has wounds that are not healing, who is having difficulty sleeping due to pain or who is suffering from pain that is not well controlled, might find some relief in hospice care. Additional to this, those who are experiencing excessive sleeping throughout the day, unplanned weight loss, excessive problems with their legs and ankles infections or a loss of appetite may find that pain management in hospice and palliative care can help with these symptoms in order to improve their overall quality of life.
The goal of hospice care, in contrast to most standard care, is to keep a patient as comfortable as possible by managing pain and other symptoms as fast and efficiently as possible. Patients do not have to wait until their pain becomes severe or uncontrollable before receiving medicine in this manner; rather, the goal is to try to prevent the patient from ever experiencing severe pain. As a result, hospice care has a huge benefit over different types of treatments since patients can spend their final days in the least amount of agony as possible.
Hospice personnel will also collaborate with the patient to find the most effective method of administering medication and other therapies for pain and symptoms associated with the life-limiting condition, as well as other factors. The use of traditional pharmaceuticals or the provision of therapies that improve the comfort and well-being of the patient may be approached in a variety of ways. Hospice care will investigate new treatments in order to discover the one that is most effective for the patient.
The point at which pain or other symptoms become unbearable for a large number of patients with life-limiting illnesses may be when hospice care may be considered. A team of medical and spiritual support workers will attempt to alleviate these symptoms and make life more comfortable for the patient throughout the final months of his or her life.
Advantages Of Hospice Care
Patients with cancer and their families have reported a significant improvement in their quality of life as a result of hospice care. Patients often report improved mental health as well as pain and symptom reduction, which allows them to spend more time with their families and even participate in regular activities. Aside from providing a much-needed social activity, hospice care can also allow patients to interact with others through therapy groups and other cancer-related activities, allowing them to make new friends and establish new connections with individuals outside the home. Cancer patients can maintain their freedom and comfort while receiving hospice care, allowing them to feel more like themselves as they transition through this stage of life.
The hospice care system provides families with access to a crucial source of information and specialist knowledge. Your loved one’s care staff can answer your questions, introduce you to new care methods and engage with doctors on your behalf to ensure that your loved one receives the best possible treatment. It is also possible to be connected with counsellors, support groups and other resources for family members if that is what you require. Finally, hospice and pain management provide a form of respite care for many families in need of assistance with their loved ones. In many cases, primary caregivers have full-time jobs, children and other duties in addition to caring for their loved ones. Allowing a hospice team to take on some of the care can free up time for primary caregivers to complete many of these other responsibilities.
Changing The Focus To Quality Of Life
Cancer can be excruciatingly painful and it can have side effects that might have a negative impact on one’s capacity to live life to its fullest. This form of care may necessitate prolonged hospitalizations or the confinement of a patient due to the severe side effects of any medicine or therapy used in conjunction with it. As a result, some patients may decide that having a better quality of life for whatever time they have left is more essential to them than having a longer life. In the event that care for a life-limiting illness is no longer a viable option, hospice care may be a realistic choice to improve the overall quality of life of the patient. Patients who choose to hospice services can live as full and comfortable a life as possible throughout the final months of their illness.
Hospice personnel will ensure that a patient’s house is accessible and that his or her requirements are fulfilled in the patient’s existing setting, which may be at home, in a hospice community or in another long-term or specialized care facility. Providers may need to provide a portable oxygen tank, a hospital bed, or other equipment in order to ensure that the patient retains as much comfort and mobility as is reasonably practicable. Hospice personnel can also ensure that patients receive the proper drugs, services and materials in order to maintain their dignity.
Patients who choose hospice care are making an affirmative decision to discontinue curative medical therapy in their lives. Many of the cancer treatment options may be eliminated as a result, allowing the patient to concentrate on pain control and being comfortable. It is possible that a patient will be able to enjoy life more fully if he or she is not experiencing excessive pain or the side effects of harsh medications and therapies. This time can then be spent participating in things that the patient enjoys, such as spending time with family and friends, going outside to enjoy nature or doing anything else that the patient is capable of doing while recovering from their illness.
Patients with life-limiting illnesses frequently prioritize maintaining a high quality of life for as long as possible during their remaining time on this planet. Comfort and support during the remaining months of a patient’s care is extremely vital for people who have endured painful therapies for an extended period of time. If you have been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness and you want to shift your attention to improving your quality of life, it may be time to consider hospice care as a viable alternative.
Obtaining Hospice Care Services
Consult with Melodia Care Hospice for more information on when it may be appropriate to consider hospice care services for your loved one. Melodia Care provides hospice services for cancer patients in the comfort of their own homes or assisted living facilities and it prepares individualized care plans for each individual patient. These plans are implemented by teams of medical experts that include doctors, nurses and home health aides who collaborate with volunteers, counsellors and family members to ensure that the patient receives a high quality of care for as long as it is needed.
In the case that hospice care is being considered, make sure to look into all of your options to select one that suits your specific physical, emotional and spiritual requirements. Our philosophy of care at Melodia Care Hospice is to promote dignity and quality of life for all of our patients. Get in touch with us right away to learn more about how we may help you or someone you care about.
You can reach us at any time of day or night by contacting us through our 24/7 online customer support chat or by calling 1-888 635-6347 (MELODI-7).