Oncology palliative care

One of the worst moments in one’s life is when they hear they’ve been diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is one of the biggest killers in the world and oncologists have fought for years to try and mitigate the effect of this particular disease. Oncology refers to the study and the treatment of tumours and a lot of patients across the world suffer from the disease.

Oncologists have yet to make a breakthrough into the advancement of treating cancer entirely but there are a few rays of hope. They have been able to create a system where patients will be able to prevent the disease from spreading further based on the stage at which it is present.

What is palliative care?

palliative care refers to special care given to patients when they are diagnosed with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. In this case, oncology palliative care tends to patients who are suffering from mild to severe forms of cancer.

It aims at providing a holistically better life during this time to help the patients see through the treatment period or the rest of their days if it is very severe. When someone is affected by cancer, it can have a very detrimental effect on their psyche and their mental and spiritual health. This can also extend to other family members who have to go through the unenviable task of learning their close relatives might not have time to live.

What does palliative care consist of?

palliative care occurs when doctors, medical practitioners and other members of the healthcare community provide intensive psychological help. They will help patients and their family members go through the various stages of a terminal or serious disease. By making the process easier, acceptance is more uncomplicated.

palliative care also consists of providing spiritual and any other medical help to patients. While most palliative care practitioners tend to provide non-physical help, there are cases in which physical help is also required, such as times when the patient is going through chemotherapy.

What are the different issues that palliative care focuses on?

There are different issues that palliative care will focus on. The physical and emotional effects that cancer can have varies from individual to individual. This care takes note of many specific issues and integrated specific needs. Here are some of the issues that are taken into account:

Emotional coping:

Specialists will be able to provide those resources which helps families and patients deal with the intense emotions that arrive with the onset of cancer and treatment. These include anxiety, fear, depression and many more.

Physical:

Physical symptoms include the likes of fatigue, appetite loss, pain, vomiting, nausea and insomnia amongst others.

Spiritual:

During the cancer diagnosis, a lot of familites and patients look for deeper meaning in their lives. The disease acts as a gateway to bring them closer to the faith they believe in or their spiritual beliefs. palliative care experts will be able to aid individuals explore values beyond what they understand. This way, they will be able to find peace or reach acceptance.

Caregiver:

Cancer care requires an important role to be played by the family members. Similar to the patient, they too, have changing needs. It can be overwhelming for family members to become a little overwhelmed by the number of responsibilities that are placed on them.

Caring for a sick relative can be a daunting task when there are other responsibilities that need to be taken care of. Caregiver needs focuses on providing help to those who have to play the role of a caregiver and gives them the necessary support. Sometimes, these challenges can act as a compromise to their own health and specialists help families cope with the same.

Portea provides some of the best nursing services for those looking for the same. With Portea, patients are given the best nurse at home services and they will be well taken care of. It is important that every patient does not go through the disease alone and this is one of the primary objectives Portea looks to address.