Treatment done at Fox Chase Cancer treatment. She is 59 yrs old..weak from chemo..could use help in caring...Do not want to leave her all day without someone checking in on her...I work all day...sole provider.
My answer would be yes Stan start the process. From what I have read not only with they help with your wife's side affects of the chemo and her pain control they very possibly would have some duggestions and ideas for you about her care. Prayers for you and your wife. My mom was treated at fox chase and it is a wonderful center.
Stan, call an Agency that have professional Caregivers, someone who is a good match for your wife to stay with her for a few hours during the day.
Your wife would love to have someone help her with the household chores, and that will help her speed up her recovery and/or help her feel better. Seeing chores not being done around the house is quite depressing. Check to see if your wife's health insurance would help cover the cost of having a Caregiver.
StanMags45: Metastatic cancer will spread. You probably already know this.What stage is your wife? I just lost a long-time friend of 40 yrs to this horrific disease. She was in Hospice Care.
Yes some palliative care, or home care would benefit her greatly. Consult with your physician for a referral. A doctor's order will go a long way in obtaining what she needs.Check to see what your insurance policy covers, as some policies cover home care.
Palliative care, for the most part, is for someone close to death although they still use chemotherapy and other treatments. As was mentioned, they are more focused on pain control.
You need someone to help your wife while she regains strength, which is a different need. I agree about seeking a script from the doctor for some in-home care.
I also agree that it may not hurt to seek out a naturopath or other person trained in building up the body through nutrition. In a case like hers, supplements (the right type - often liquid so that they are more easily absorbed - often work wonders). Once her appetite returns, try to encourage a healthy diet.
Stan, at what stage has your wife's cancer been diagnosed?
Chemo is devastating and will likely leave someone weak, debilitated, fatigued, depressed and often with little appetite. These aren't unusual side effects.
I would ask your wife's oncologist about scripting for home care. You could also ask nurses or staff at the infusion center; they might be able to make recommendations for home care specialists who are familiar with chemo and its side effects.
What my sister did was to arrange for her various friends and co-workers who were close by to check on her, and be available if she needed anything on an emergency basis.
If there are family, neighbors, church friends, and others who could arrange to check on her at specific intervals, especially after chemo sessions, that's one way to provide monitoring.
Sometimes those family and friends will offer to do housework as well.
Something else I would do is prepare meals for her ahead of time so that she always has meals available for her when she's too fatigued to cook. Or buy good quality frozen meals.
Something that my sister also did was to move everything she needed to the couch, where she slept during her last chemo session...phone, contact numbers, reading material, tv remote, a place for a food tray, calendar, etc. That eliminated having to move when she was too unsteady.
Two other sources for general knowledge about the whole issue of cancer are:
1. CURE magazine with a lot of excellent articles ranging from scientific to practical.
2. Gilda's Club, which has educational programs, support groups, therapy groups, and a whole lot more. Even if your wife is fatigued, there might be a time when she does feel up to socialization, and this would be a place where everyone would understand what she's going through.
I would read a lot about palliative care. It is broad, but most of the time, in my opinion, it just focuses on keeping the patient comfortable and pain free. They don't normally do cancer screenings. But, since your wife is young and undergoing cancer treatment, then I would have someone knowledgeable in the types of care discuss it with her. You can read a lot about it online too. What are her feelings about it?
Have the doctors given her a prognosis? Is there any reason to believe that she will not recover? Perhaps, you could have someone come into the home to help while you are out all day. Have you checked to see if your health insurance has any coverage for something like that? Are you able to afford to pay for a private care provider who could come in at least once per day to assist her? Do you have any family or friends who could step in for a few weeks?
Your wife would love to have someone help her with the household chores, and that will help her speed up her recovery and/or help her feel better. Seeing chores not being done around the house is quite depressing. Check to see if your wife's health insurance would help cover the cost of having a Caregiver.
You need someone to help your wife while she regains strength, which is a different need. I agree about seeking a script from the doctor for some in-home care.
I also agree that it may not hurt to seek out a naturopath or other person trained in building up the body through nutrition. In a case like hers, supplements (the right type - often liquid so that they are more easily absorbed - often work wonders). Once her appetite returns, try to encourage a healthy diet.
Please update us on how you both are doing.
Carol
Chemo is devastating and will likely leave someone weak, debilitated, fatigued, depressed and often with little appetite. These aren't unusual side effects.
I would ask your wife's oncologist about scripting for home care. You could also ask nurses or staff at the infusion center; they might be able to make recommendations for home care specialists who are familiar with chemo and its side effects.
What my sister did was to arrange for her various friends and co-workers who were close by to check on her, and be available if she needed anything on an emergency basis.
If there are family, neighbors, church friends, and others who could arrange to check on her at specific intervals, especially after chemo sessions, that's one way to provide monitoring.
Sometimes those family and friends will offer to do housework as well.
Something else I would do is prepare meals for her ahead of time so that she always has meals available for her when she's too fatigued to cook. Or buy good quality frozen meals.
Something that my sister also did was to move everything she needed to the couch, where she slept during her last chemo session...phone, contact numbers, reading material, tv remote, a place for a food tray, calendar, etc. That eliminated having to move when she was too unsteady.
Two other sources for general knowledge about the whole issue of cancer are:
1. CURE magazine with a lot of excellent articles ranging from scientific to practical.
2. Gilda's Club, which has educational programs, support groups, therapy groups, and a whole lot more. Even if your wife is fatigued, there might be a time when she does feel up to socialization, and this would be a place where everyone would understand what she's going through.
Have the doctors given her a prognosis? Is there any reason to believe that she will not recover? Perhaps, you could have someone come into the home to help while you are out all day. Have you checked to see if your health insurance has any coverage for something like that? Are you able to afford to pay for a private care provider who could come in at least once per day to assist her? Do you have any family or friends who could step in for a few weeks?