Any serious illness brings with it a lot of choices. That’s especially true for cancer. Chemotherapy is a common treatment, but it’s notorious for being hard on the person as well as the illness. If your elderly family member is considering stopping chemotherapy, she may be wondering if she’s considering that idea too soon or whether hospice care is the right choice for her now.
The Side Effects Seem to Be Worsening
Often a big reason for people to stop chemotherapy is that the side effects are becoming worse. This might have been the case for a while for your senior before it all just becomes too much. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to take a break from side effects that are uncomfortable.
Your Senior’s Doctor Is Changing Her Prognosis
Your elderly family member’s medical team offers her a prognosis that updates with each new major development in her treatment. If her doctor is seeing signs that her prognosis is worsening, it might be time to talk about hospice care. This type of care is recommended when your senior’s doctor believes that she has six months or fewer left. A prognosis that continues to worsen may cause your senior to think about quitting chemotherapy.
There Aren’t Any More Treatment Options
Some types of cancer are incredibly stubborn and do not respond well to treatments. Your elderly family member may have tried a variety of types of chemotherapy and other curative treatments, only to find that they haven’t worked for her. If she’s at the end of her list of options for treatment, that may cause her to lean toward hospice care as the next step.
Your Senior Wants to Stop Treatments
It’s also possible that your elderly family member just decides that she no longer wants to continue chemotherapy treatments. This may not have anything to do with side effects or other issues, but she may just feel that it’s time for her to stop active treatment. Your elderly family member may feel this way if she’s been battling cancer for a long time or if she is just overwhelmed with appointments and having to keep up with everything that’s going on.
Quality of Life Is Becoming More Important
For many cancer patients, quality of life becomes far more important than finding more time through treatment. Hospice care focuses primarily on quality of life, making it an excellent choice when your elderly family member is ready to leave curative treatments behind. She’s able to focus on spending the rest of the time that she has left as comfortably as possible, surrounded by the people that she cares about the most.
Every person’s battle with cancer is different, and the decisions and timing of those decisions are also going to be different. Having her options spelled out for her is going to help make those decisions much easier for your elderly family member, so it’s important to talk about the benefits of hospice and other types of care with your senior’s medical providers.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Hospice Care in Gainesville, TX please contact the caring staff at Arcy Healthcare today. 469-293-1515
My name is Jimmie Stapleton. I am the founder and CEO of Arcy Healthcare. Arcy Healthcare includes Arcy Hospice, Arcy Supportive Care, MaximaCare Home Health and Arcy at Home.
Arcy Hospice was opened in 2007 to provide care and support for individuals and families facing a life limiting illness. It was established after my wife Ellen, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, had completed her chemo and radiation therapies. At that time, things were looking positive, and we wanted to do something for our community that had been so supportive of our family during her treatments. Unfortunately, the cancer returned a few years later, and she subsequently passed away under our care in 2010.
In the years that followed, I began to see the need to provide the same level of excellent care to patients across the continuum of care. Therefore, we have added a home health division (MaximaCare Home Health), a palliative care division (Arcy Supportive Care), and a home care division, (Arcy at Home). With the addition of these divisions, we can meet most of the post-acute care needs for you and your family in your home.
I started Arcy Hospice with my wife as my motivation to provide exceptional care and support in the patient’s home, where they are surrounded by family and where they feel most comfortable. I’m proud to say that our staff provides some of the best in home care in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
Please let us know if we can enrich the quality of life for you or a loved one.
Sincerely,
Jimmie Stapleton – Founder and CEO
Arcy Healthcare
- Social Interaction and Senior Home Care - November 20, 2024
- Recognizing the Common Symptoms of Laryngeal Cancer - November 6, 2024
- Why a Senior Pet Might be Perfect for Your Senior - October 16, 2024
