If you are considering becoming a family caregiver for your elderly parent as they deal with cancer, it is critical that you take the time to prepare yourself for all of the challenges and issues that you might face during this experience. Taking this time will help you to ready yourself from the various angles necessary, including emotionally and physically, so that you can ensure that you are ready to give your elderly parent the highest quality care possible throughout this experience.
Some ways that you should prepare yourself for the experience of being a caregiver for a senior with cancer include:
• Prepare for the emotions.
Being a family caregiver can be very fulfilling. This is a way for you to give back to your parent, to show them the love that they showed to you, and to ensure that they live the highest quality of life possible as they go through this journey. It can also be extremely challenging. You may find it upsetting and frightening to see your parent go through this disease, and may worry about what is going to happen to them in the future. You might have the face the struggle of a terminal diagnosis or your parent reaching the end of their life.
• Know the physical needs.
Depending on your parent’s condition, you might need to provide extensive physical support and assistance for them. This can include help with mobility, assistance with bathing and dressing, and help with toileting. This will require you to be physically capable of handling these needs. When it comes to the physical needs of this care journey you must also consider germ control. Seniors fighting cancer and going through treatment are more vulnerable to infection and illness, requiring extensive germ control.
• Be ready to handle your parent’s wishes.
Knowing your parent’s wishes regarding their care, management, treatment, and even end-of-life issues is a very important part of being a caregiver for your senior. You must not only be willing to find out about these wishes but also to follow through with them. This might mean accepting that your parent wants things that you do not and having to make decisions that you disagree with to honor your parent’s wishes and feelings.
If you have found that your aging parent’s challenges and needs are more than you can handle as their family caregiver, or your own personal limitations and schedule have become such that you are not able to fulfill their needs in the way that you think they deserve, now may be the ideal time to consider home care for them.
As a family caregiver, it is your priority to make sure that your senior has the care, support, and assistance that they need to live their highest quality of life possible. Sometimes this means recognizing care gaps that might exist in your routine and finding ways to ensure that they are filled.
A care provider can address these gaps, filling them in the way that is right for your parent, and for you, with highly personalized services tailored toward a lifestyle that is safe and healthy, as well as independent and fulfilling.
For more information about home care services in Pacific Beach, CA call the friendly caregivers at La Jolla Nurses Homecare who can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, at 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable senior care in La Jolla, CA, and the surrounding communities.
https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/emotional-side-effects/distress/is-extra-help-needed.html
https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/emotional-side-effects/distress/coping-tips.html
https://www.cancer.org/treatment/caregivers/if-youre-about-to-become-a-cancer-caregiver.html
Today we are the oldest and most experienced private duty agency in San Diego County.She saw a need for quality private duty home health care and she worked diligently to build an agency that filled that need.I am proud to say, her vision is carried on today with our dedicated staff.
I believe our tenure in the community speaks well for us.We have had the opportunity to be of service to countless interesting individuals, including local and worldwide celebrities.It is the people we care for that makes this a fascinating industry.Whether high profile or a more ordinary citizen, we are proud that thousands have entrusted us with their care or the care of their loved ones.Our Mission is to provide high quality, very secure and the most compassionate home health care.We believe that patients heal faster and are happiest when they can stay in their homes.”
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