Talk About Your Mom’s Treatment Plans During Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Lung cancer is the nation’s third most common cancer, and it’s one that is diagnosed in more than 109,000 women each year. Smokers have a higher risk, but non-smokers can get lung cancer. It can be caused by air pollution, radon and asbestos exposure, and second-hand smoke.

Your mom has been diagnosed with lung cancer. While she’s currently in the hospital, she doesn’t want to stay there. She wants to go home as soon as possible. Post-hospital care is one way to ensure that happens. Here’s what it offers.

Disease Management

Post-Hospital Care Palm Beach County, FL:  Lung Cancer Awareness

Post-Hospital Care Palm Beach County, FL: Lung Cancer Awareness

While your mom goes through treatments, she may need extra monitoring. A skilled nurse knows what to look for in terms of excessive pain, infection, or worsening health. The nurse can record her vitals, including oxygen saturation levels, and report findings to your mom’s medical team.

Your mom’s recovery also requires her to not let her diagnosis affect her mental and emotional health. They can both impact how well she heals and follows her oncology team’s recommendations.

Your mom’s nurse will recognize signs of excessive stress or depression and alert her medical team if there are issues. If your mom needs medications to help with depression or anxiety, her nurse can discuss it with her doctors and make sure they’re available if recommended.

Medication Administration

Your mom may be taking medications that she cannot skip. She cannot miss a dose, and it may be your job to ensure she takes them. What if the medication she needs is an IV or injection? Home health care nurses can make sure she’s getting all medications as prescribed.

If your mom’s medications are not doing enough to manage pain, nausea, or other symptoms she’s experiencing with chemo and radiation, her nurse can work with her doctor to alter the medications and implement the new care plan.

Patient and Family Education

Your mom may need to work on strengthening her lunches with the use of an incentive spirometer. Learning how to use this properly is something she’ll learn while working with a respiratory therapist. Her nurse can show you how it works and how to make sure your mom works with it every day.

Wound Care

If your mom had any part of a tumor or mass removed from her lung, she may have an incision to care for. Post-hospital care nurses can help her keep the incision covered and dry. They’ll check the healing wound and make sure it’s clean, not showing signs of infection, and apply clean dressings.

Arrange post-hospital care as soon as you can. Talk to your mom’s oncology team and surgeons to get an idea of what treatments she’s going to need. They’ll help you work on a post-hospital care at home plan that makes your mom comfortable while also making sure her care is a top priority.

If you or an aging loved-one is considering Post-Hospital Care in Palm Beach County, FL please contact the caring staff at Elite Senior Home Care today. (561) 570-6613

Elite Senior Home Care provides Home Medical Equipment!
Visit www.EliteMedicalSupplyFL.com

Sources:
https://gis.cdc.gov/Cancer/USCS/#/Demographics/