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What's a cancer helper?
We define the caregiver as the person who most often helps the person with cancer and is not paid to do so. Professional caregivers are paid to provide care. They tend to have more limited roles and are not discussed in detail here.
Caregivers can be partners, family members or close friends. Most often, they are not trained for caregiver work. Often, they are the lifeline of the person with cancer.
Caregivers have many roles. These roles change as the patient's needs change during and after cancer treatment. Today, many cancer care services are provided in outpatient treatment centers and doctors' offices. This means that sicker people are taken care of at home.
As a caregiver, you have a tremendous influence – both positive and negative – on how the patient has cancer. Your encouragement can help the patient follow a demanding treatment plan and take other steps to recover, such as eating healthy meals or getting enough rest.
Caregivers are part of the team
The caregiver is part of a cancer treatment team consisting of the patient, other family members and friends and medical staff. As a caregiver, you could find yourself working closely with the team of oncologists, doing things like:
Give drugs
Manage side effects
Report problems
Try to inform other family members and friends of what is going on
Help decide if a treatment works
As a member of the team, you will help coordinate patient care. Caregivers often have to follow prescriptions, know what tests need to be done, and make sure all the doctors involved know what is going on. They often find themselves avoiding mistakes and keeping track of paperwork.
A good caregiver is a vital resource in health care. In many cases, the caregiver is the only person who knows everything that is going on with the patient. Do not be afraid to ask questions and take notes when visiting the doctor. Learn who the members of the cancer team are and how to contact them. Getting support and the right information can help you and your loved one with cancer.
Caregivers are problem solvers
The person with cancer faces many new challenges. As a caregiver, you can help the patient cope with these challenges and overcome any problems that arise.
For example, suppose the patient's blood counts decrease, they develop fever, and they must be hospitalized. This can be very disturbing and can be considered a failure by the family and the patient. The carer can:
Help to address their concerns by pointing out that the patient will have to stay in the hospital for a short time until the infection is under control.
Make sure the patient has everything they need in the hospital, including doctor's orders for non-cancer medications taken at home, such as thyroid medications or blood pressure.
Call all the doctors involved in the patient's care and inform them of the infection and the patient's presence in the hospital.
Check that arrangements have been made for the patient to stay on antibiotics at home or outpatient after leaving the hospital. If daily visits to the outpatient clinic are required to administer intravenous (intravenous) antibiotics, the caregiver can coordinate the individuals to help the patient return daily.
This type of task can be too heavy for the patient when he is fighting the infection. This type of help is valuable. It is a reassuring sign for the patient that this short-term problem can be managed and resolved.
Caregivers occupy daily tasks
There are other daily tasks that a caregiver can do. Here are some tips to help people with cancer or, in some cases, help them:
Buy and prepare food
Eat
To take pills
Bathing, grooming and dressing
Use the bathroom
Clean the house and do the laundry
Pay the bills
Find emotional support
Go to the doctor's appointment, undergo tests and follow treatments
Manage medical problems at home
Coordinate cancer care
Decide when to seek health care or consult a doctor for new problems
All this work costs time and money to caregivers. There may also be a cost to the health and well-being of the caregiver, but often the caregiver continues to do what needs to be done and can suffer in silence.
You can be happy to put the well-being of the person with cancer over your own well-being. And your love for this person can give you the energy and motivation to help them through this difficult time. Yet no matter what you think, caregiving is hard work! And many caregivers are there for their loved ones 24 hours a day for months or even years.
Caregivers involve the patient
Good communication with the person you are caring for is the most important part of your role. It can be difficult for the patient to participate in day-to-day planning and decision making as it addresses the physical, emotional and social effects of cancer and treatment. Your job is to involve the patient as much as possible so that they know they are doing their part to improve themselves. Here are some of the things you can try to do to keep the patient involved:
Help them live as normal lives as possible. To do this, you can start by helping them decide which activities are the most important. They may need to set aside those who are less important to do the most valued things.
Encourage them to share their feelings and support their efforts to share. For example, if they start talking to you about their feelings about cancer, do not change the subject. Listen and let them talk. You may also want to share how you feel.
Let the patient know that you are available, but do not hurry. For example, if they try to do something, like dressing themselves, they may have difficulty, but it is important that they be able to do it. You may want to do it for them, but do not do it. Let them decide when they need help.
Remember that people communicate in different ways. Try to share by writing or using gestures, phrases or contacts. Sometimes it can be very difficult to say what you feel, but a gesture like holding hands can show how you feel.
Take your bearings from the person with cancer. Some people are very private while others will talk more about what they are going through. Respect the need of the person to share or his need to remain silent.
Be realistic and flexible about what you hope to talk about and agree on. You may need or want to talk, only to find that the patient does not want to do it at that time.
Respect the need to be alone. Sometimes we all need time alone – even you.
You may find that the person you are caring for is acting differently – angry, quiet and withdrawn, or just sad. If you think they do not talk to you because they want to spare your feelings, make sure they know you're always open to listening, even on difficult topics. If they continue to act very sadly or if you withdraw, you can talk to the cancer team about what might be causing it and what can be done. Learn about anxiety, fear, and depression and distress in people with cancer.
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