Home Health Care: Breast Cancer Awareness Month Is a Good Time to Address Care Plans During Breast Cancer Treatments

 

Home Health Care: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Did you know that approximately 330,800 breast cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in women by 2021? The older you are, the higher the risk of a positive diagnosis. Your family learned that when your mom was diagnosed. Right now, you’re all shocked. Your mom is scared. Those are understandable reactions, and it’s an excellent time to sit down together to discuss her home health care needs. These are the topics you need to discuss.

 

Home Health Care in Southport IN: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Home Health Care in Southport IN: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 

What Are the Treatment Options?

Find out what the doctor says when it comes to the treatment plan. Surgery is often the first step, and radiation therapy comes next. If cancer has spread, the treatments may take more time or become more involved.

Your mom may need hormone therapy, anti-HER2 drugs, and chemotherapy, too. It can take five years to complete hormone therapies. Expect her to be on ER2-targeted medications for a year. There are side effects with these medications and treatments that you have to consider.

For example, anti-HER2 drugs have side effects like diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. Hormone therapy doesn’t often have serious side effects, but some of the medicines used can increase the risks of blood clots, bone density problems, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, and stroke.

 

What Care is Needed at Home?

After surgery, your mom will need support. She may not be allowed to lift heavier items for several weeks. You can help her with that, but you may not be comfortable with bandage changes and wound care. A home health care nurse can provide wound care services.

If your mom needs any medications via an IV or injection, you can’t do them, but a nurse can. A nurse can also tell if your mom is experiencing dangerous complications from medications and alert her doctor.

Nurses can take daily vital signs and administer IV fluids and nutrients if nausea and vomiting make it impossible for your mom to keep food down. She may want to work with a dietitian in her home to figure out the best meals to eat while undergoing radiation and chemotherapy.

Once you know your mom’s cancer treatment plan, talk to a home health care agency. The more support she has, the easier her treatments and recovery will be. Call and ask to speak to a specialist in home health care to get prices and care options.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering  Home Health Care in Southport, IN, please call the caring staff at Home Services Unlimited. Serving Greater Indianapolis Area. Call for Immediate Info & Assistance: (317) 471-0760

 

Sources:
https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics

Etelka Froymovich, RN, MHA
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