October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here are a few facts you should know about this common type of cancer. First, the highest number of new cases is found in the 65 to 69 age group. Second, the highest number of total breast cancer cases is highest in people between the ages of 70 and 74.
Your mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is about to undergo treatments. Most breast cancer patients undergo a biopsy first and then the common treatment plan is the surgical removal of the cancerous mass, chemotherapy, and radiation.
If this is the treatment plan for your mom, she’s going to require a lot of support at her appointments and at home. What arrangements should your family make to ensure she has the help she needs?
Help Her Around the Home
Your mom may not have the energy needed to properly clean her home. A home care assistance provider could make her bed, change and wash her sheets and towels, and run a vacuum. Her caregiver can water her plants, get the mail, and wipe down counters and other hard surfaces to clean up stains and kill germs.
She might struggle to cook meals that appeal to her. If she’s dealing with nausea, she might find only certain foods are palatable. Having someone else available to cook meals and bring beverages to her is helpful.
Provide Companionship
Your mom may be comforted to know someone is in the house and can help. If your mom is feeling particularly ill, it can be comforting to know that there is someone there to talk to or to alert her doctor if she seems to be dehydrated or too weak to function.
Arrange Transportation
Your mom needs someone to drive her to appointments. Until she knows how she’ll feel after chemo or radiation treatments, she shouldn’t drive on her own. Make sure you or another family member has the day off to be with her. If she wants moral support in the medical office, be there for her.
She’ll also need someone to drive her to the pharmacy to pick up any medications she needs. She might want to have someone with her when buying groceries and home goods or when running errands
If you can’t take enough time off work to drive her to all of her appointments and help her run errands, make sure you arrange to have others free to drive her. If other family members also have limited time in their schedule, arrange transportation with home care aides.
What home care assistance services will most help your mom during treatments? It’s important to talk to an advisor to make sure you’re not overlooking anything that you haven’t thought of. Call today.
Sources:
https://gis.cdc.gov/Cancer/USCS/#/Demographics/
If you are considering home care assistance in Henderson, NV, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.
Our caregivers and staff members treat our clients, residents, and their families with the utmost respect. Our focus is to provide the highest quality of care and service with compassion and dignity.
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