Caregiver

Many caregivers face a conundrum when it comes to an aging parent’s ability to drive – or lack thereof. On the one hand, driving is one of the greatest signs of freedom and independence there is, regardless of age. Accordingly, it is one of the last shreds of independence an older adult is willing to surrender. On the other hand, sometimes there simply is no other way around it than to have Dan Aykroyd hire Morgan Freeman to drive Jessica Tandy around. Seems harsh, but that’s just the reality of it.

According to the US News & World Report there are 4 things you should never say to a caregiver. And according to the Huffington Post, there are a further 8 things that you should never say to a caregiver. But as a caregiver, would you really not want to hear at least a few of these things? Are they all worthy of Jeff Foxworthy’s “Here’s your sign”? Let’s analyze these things here at Discount Medical Supplies.

Proper communication between cancer patients, their caregivers and doctors helps to improve the former’s wellbeing and quality of life. According to the National Cancer Institute, when patients with cancer, family caregivers, and the medical care team communicate well each with the others, the patient:

Caregivers use home care medical supplies to provide dying loved ones with a better quality of life. But the fact alone of choosing to die at home instead of the hospital might just literally give your loved one a new lease on life. A large Japanese study found that cancer patients who died at home tended to outlive those who died in hospitals. The researchers discovered that patients who died at home had a considerably longer survival period than that of patients who died in hospitals, even after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics, among other factors.

A caregiver is not just a caregiver – first and foremost, he or she is a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter, or a friend. And when it comes to caring for someone with cancer, the role of the caregiver goes through many a change at several different points in the course of the disease. For example, a caregiver should play a major role as a member of the medical care team right from the beginning. As treatment approaches become more advanced, patients live longer and better and have an increased chance to be cared for at home. As a result, many duties that were formerly performed by doctors and nurses can be done at home by a caregiver – such as organizing and administering medications.

Caregivers of people with cancer should consider enrolling their loved one in a cancer clinical trial for two reasons. First, it is an opportunity to be among the first in line to receive a new treatment. And second, it is a way to help develop future alternatives that might prevent and, who knows, even cure cancer – and since a risk factor for cancer is family history, this is something that close relatives should definitely be interested in. There are no guarantees, but most currently used methods to prevent, detect, and treat cancer did start as clinical trials. There are trials available for all stages of cancer, though some only accept people who have not been treated yet.

The role of the caregiver may change, but not necessarily end, after a loved one has completed treatment for cancer. The road to full recovery can be long and winding, physically and emotionally speaking. The end of treatment brings with it two main concerns; the side effects of the treatment itself, and the fear that the cancer might return.

Advanced cancer may be the beginning of the end for a caregiver’s loved one, but it’s still a beginning. Each new beginning brings changes with it, and cancer is not the exception. Both caregiver and care receiver may have to make new decisions, and the former may have to shift his or her approach to care, as well as ask healthcare providers a new set of questions.

Sometimes modifying an aging or disabled loved one’s home – or your own if your loved one moves in – poses more questions than answers for the caregiver. The two main goals are safety and accessibility, but achieving them may not be as easy as putting two and two together. The following table may be of help you make a home both safe and accessible to a care receiver – including several medical supplies for home available at Discount Medical Supplies.

One of the most important tasks a caregiver has to take on is making sure that the atmosphere around the house is peaceful and stable. Learning how to create distractions can come in handy from time to time especially when situations get stressful or out of the ordinary. However, sometimes it may be extremely challenging to keep things in control especially when a given situation triggers explosive violent behaviors.