As one of the most common treatments for many forms of cancer, chemotherapy is often used to kill the cancer cells in the body and control their growth. While its purpose is killing cancerous cells, it often affects healthy cells as well, causing a myriad of unwanted side effects. Having a home care provider as part of your loved one’s chemo treatment management team can be a big part of making the side effects more manageable. To make sure your loved one is always cared for, make sure your home care provider has healthcare supplemental staffing.
Chemotherapy Side Effects
The side effects of chemo vary from person to person and from each type of cancer. Most of them begin the day after treatment and are at their strongest at that point and then taper off within 3-4 days until the next treatment is administered. For that reason, your loved one may only need assistance or support sporadically during her chemo treatment.
- Intense exhaustion
- Nausea that is sometimes accompanied by vomiting
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Hair loss
- Nerve damage that causes weakness in the hands and feet, along with possible tingling or burning sensations
- Low blood count that weakens the immune system and puts your loved one more at risk for developing an infection or anemia.
Five Steps to Manage Chemo Side Effects
While it is true for most that they will be miserable during chemotherapy no matter what, there are steps you and your loved one can take to help reduce her chemotherapy side effects so that they are more manageable or shorter term.
Keep a regular sleeping routine. The body needs sleep to refresh itself and while exhaustion may make your loved one want to take a 4-hour nap during the day if it interrupts her nighttime sleep, it may not be helping.
Stay hydrated. It’s hard to stay hydrated when feeling nauseous, but hydration will help keep other symptoms at bay and give the body what it needs to move blood cells to where they are needed.
Have a resting area that has everything she needs such as her phone, a pitcher of water, small snacks, the TV remote – whatever she needs. This will prevent her from skipping eating or drinking due to exhaustion.
Eat smaller, blander meals. Instead of a couple of large meals a day, have your loved one snack through the day or have 5-6 small meals. The BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast) can curb feelings of nausea.
Enlist help. Even if your loved one is sleeping most of the day, it can be helpful to have someone at home at all times to assist when she needs it. When you are not able to be home all day long, hire a home care provider to come and sit with your loved one and help as needed.
A home care provider can step in when your loved one needs extra help as well as assist in personal care and home care. With healthcare supplemental staffing, there will always be someone ready to be on call when your loved one needs it. Healthcare supplemental staffing provides you with peace of mind that no matter the circumstances, your loved one will have someone there to support her through her treatment.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Healthcare Supplemental Staffing Services in MacungiePA, please contact the caring staff at Extended Family Care Allentown today. Call 610-432-6766
Extended Family Care Allentown is a Trusted Home Care Agency in Allentown, Pennsylvania including Bethlehem, Easton, Emmaus, Macungie, Whitehall, Schnecksville, Catasauqua, Northampton, and Nazareth.
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