Cancer can be the worst truth of someone’s life. This illness not only hurts physically but also takes a toll on the emotional and financial state of the person. The treatment has many social, emotional, mental, and financial impacts on the person. Palliative Care helps an individual in dealing with these issues.
Palliative Care makes a great part of the cancer treatment journey. It is given along with the treatment to stop and cure cancer. While palliative care does not cure or treat cancer patients, however, it improves the quality of life of an individual. This has an important and significant impact on the recovery rate of cancer patients. Palliative care can be started as soon as one gets to know about cancer and continue even after the cancer treatment is over.
Where can Palliative Care be used?
- The palliative treatment includes various things like-
- Nutritional Changes
- Some Medication
- Relaxing Techniques
- Spiritual and Emotional Support
- Support for Children & family caregivers
The Palliative Care team
The treatment starts with your care team. As a matter of fact, there are many individuals involved in the caregiving process. However, we can classify them into few categories. It is important to break the ice with your team and talk openly about your fears and low-key moments. You should trust them. Then only this treatment will help. So, here are the main members.
- A social worker, he or she will help you with daily chores and other challenges in cancer treatment.
- A counselor, he or she will be a psychologist or a child specialist. They will help you with emotional support especially when the patient is a child.
- A spiritual advisor, spirituality is the main component of palliative treatment. This person will help you with fears, loneliness, self-doubt, and questions about illness and life.
Types of Palliative Care
Social Palliative Care
They help in talking out with your family, arrange meetings and get-togethers. They also help in finding information, services, and rides. One can also talk to them about their fears and other emotional breakdowns. This is very useful for people who are alone or live away from family members.
Emotional Palliative Care
Cancer is overwhelming a person with numerous new and strange emotions. We usually don’t feel them as they are in a dormant state. However, a severe illness like cancer can wake them up. Hence, in this type, caregivers deal with the uneven emotions of the cancer patient. They can be counselors, psychologists, a support group, etc.
Spiritual Palliative Care
Spirituality should not be confused with religiosity. A person can be spiritual and yet not believe in religion. These persons help them to talk about the struggle of acceptance of the illness and belief in the treatment.
Mental Palliative Care
There can be a mental side effect of the cancer treatment like anxiety, lack of sleep, discomfort, stress, clouding of thought process. This type of care can help with these ailments. One can talk about any kind of abnormal feelings and sudden changes. Talking out and letting out of emotions helps a lot in dealing with the mental side effects of cancer treatment.
Financial Palliative Care
It is a well-known fact that cancer treatment can cost a huge sum. This amount is not payable by many individuals. Lack of finances can potentially hamper the treatment and recovery rate. However, a cancer patient is already going through a lot. Hence, this type of care takes into account these financial hurdles in cancer treatment.
- The individuals can talk to the medical care treatment and find a solution.
- They can help in finding and getting affordable cancer treatment.
- They can help in collecting funds for cancer patients.
- They can help in insurance and billing for the patient.
Physical Palliative Care
Cancer treatment can lead to many physical side effects. These generally include pain, nausea, sleep problems, fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting, and breathing problems. Palliative care for physical side effects includes some medications like anti-nausea, physical therapy, and nutrition.
There is one thing that individuals should keep in mind that palliative care can only make the recovery rate faster but not cure cancer alone. To cure cancer one will have to go through the conventional process of treatment.
