Cancer Caregiving A To Z

"The role of caregiver in cancer care has expanded tremendously in recent years. People with cancer are living longer, and many cancer treatments once done in a hospital are now performed in an outpatient setting. In addition, hospital patients may be discharged early, often while they still are experiencing pain, discomfort, or other side effects from treatment. Caregivers at home suddenly have to perform tasks traditionally done by nurses, such as administering medications, monitoring symptoms, and hooking up intravenous antibiotics. Yet they have no formal training for the job. Whether the caregiver is a spouse, partner, adult child, or friend, this person fills an exceptional role--one the requires compassion and strength, as well as knowledge about health care issues. Cancer Caregiving A to Z was written by experts at the American Cancer Society to provide caregivers the knowledge they need to make the right decisions for loved ones who are recovering from cancer and the effects of cancer treatments"--Page 4 of cover.

Informal caregivers - family members, friends, and other loved ones - are an essential, uncompensated and significantly burdened extension of the healthcare team. Rapid advances in cancer care, including new drugs and immunotherapies and more sophisticated diagnostic tools, have markedly improved the ability to medically extend lives and enhance survival. As patients are living longer, with today's shorter hospital stays and shift towards increased outpatient care, however, the demands placed on all caregivers and their needs have substantially increased. Cancer Caregivers reveals the field of Psycho-Oncology's exploration of the depth of complexities of caregiving experiences and identifies the vast expanses left to be understood. This text describes the characteristics and experiences of cancer caregivers based on their life stage, relationship to the patient, and ethnic group membership, as well as patients' disease and treatment type. It highlights the significant progress in research focused on the development and dissemination of psychosocial interventions for cancer caregivers, and includes in-depth case studies to illustrate their delivery and application. The text also explores the provision of support to caregivers in the community and the legal and ethical concerns faced by caregivers throughout the caregiving process. Cancer Caregivers offers both fundamental and practical information and is the essential resource for all healthcare professionals who work with patients and families facing cancer.

Caregiving: a step-y-step resource for caring for the person with cancer at home.

The book cancer patients and their families should receive upon diagnosis. Advise and help for cancer patients, caregivers, friends and family of cancer patients. Simple yet potent suggestions for caring for oneself or caring for someone else facing cancer. From the day of diagnosis on through all treatments, suggestions for physical symptoms, emotional strength, and day to day aspects of cancer treatment. A how to guide on dealing with today and preparing for tomorrow practically during cancer.

Family caregivers are the unsung heroes of the life-saving drama that's triggered by a cancer diagnosis. Nearly three quarters of American households will find themselves caring for a cancer patient at one point in their lives. This book is the first to capture their thoughts, feelings, and insights on a large scale. It is based on 101 formal interviews with non-professional caregivers (some of whom are cancer survivors themselves), covering 122 patients in 19 states and Canada who ranged in age from 2 to 92 and faced 40 different cancer diagnoses. Practical lessons drawn from caregivers' experiences are intermingled with their own words to forge a compelling narrative intended to help both patients and their family caregivers to understand and cope with the full range of issues they should anticipate as they fight the battle of their lives.

A step-by-step resource for caring for the person with cancer at home.

Many teens enjoy a carefree time of school, some light household responsibilities to help their family, and good times with their friends. According to a National Alliance of Caregiving report in 2005, at least 1.3 million children between the ages of eight and eighteen are shouldering the heavy responsibilities of caring for family members who cannot care for themselves without help. Readers will get a frank description of the work faced by many teen caregivers. Teens who are immersed in this life already can find resources and organizations for support, as well as sound advice for coping in tough times.

The cancer experience shakes most caregivers to their core. It is even more compelling and poignant when it involves children. Thousands of families each year face this shocking reality. Based on interviews with caregivers who have first-hand knowledge, this book is intended to help anyone facing a cancer diagnosis affecting a child, either as the patient or as a member of a family. It offers advice and cites resources to help discuss cancer with children of different ages, manage the impact of the disease on their daily lives, navigate treatment for kids with cancer, and deal with children's grief in the event of a death in the family.