Around 1.9 million adults in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year. Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women, with approximately 287,850 women diagnosed in 2022. Lung cancer is the second most common at 118,830.
No matter what type of cancer your mom’s doctors tell her, she needs to undergo cancer treatments. Skilled nursing care is an important part of her recovery at home. The more support she has, the easier it is to navigate the emotional and physical exhaustion she may experience while being treated for cancer.
Post-Surgical Wound Care
If your mom has to have a mass or organ removed, she’ll have an incision that needs proper care to prevent infection. This often means assessing the wound as it heals, cleaning it without tearing stitches or surgical glue, and replacing the bandage.
Medication Administration
Obviously, pain relief is essential if your mom had surgery. Depending on the area of the incision, pain may be severe for a few days. Normally, her surgeon will tell her to use acetaminophen or ibuprofen, but that may not be enough. In this case, skilled nurses can administer IV pain relievers.
If your mom feels sick after chemo or radiation treatments, she can become dehydrated if she vomits a lot. Nurses can insert IV lines and talk to her doctors about IVs of fluids to ensure your mom doesn’t risk her health.
Physical Therapy at Home
For some cancers, your mom may benefit from physical therapy to help her regain strength and improve her balance. Instead of going to an office where others may be sick, she can have therapists come to her home.
Health Assessments
With skilled nursing care, your mom can have nurses take her vital signs each day. They can take her blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation levels, blood sugar levels, etc. Once they have them, they’ll add them to your mom’s medical records and let her doctors know.
Should your mom’s doctor decide she needs to alter her care plan at home, her nurse can then discuss the changes with the doctor and implement them without your mom having to return to the hospital. It helps a lot with disease prevention, while your mom’s immune system is weakened.
If she needs to have another blood draw completed for follow-up, have the blood drawn by a nurse at home. If it helps her avoid hospitals and medical clinics filled with germs, then it’s better for her.
Make sure your mom has the support of skilled nurses while she undergoes her cancer treatments. With nurses helping her out, she won’t have to struggle with side effects, pain, or post-surgery care needs. Learn more about skilled nursing care today.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Skilled Nursing Care in Auburn, AL, please contact the caring staff at Prime Home Health today. Caring for Our Friends and Neighbors in Tallapoosa, Chambers, Lee, Macon, and Russell Counties! Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! 334.745.7966
Sources:
