The Life of the Elderly after Cancer - How to Take Care?

Cancer in itself is dreadful and the treatment of cancer can be way more difficult and challenging for older adults. This is mainly because elderly people have greater chances of chronic health conditions like heart diseases or diabetes. Even if an elderly person is fit, their body will not respond the way a younger person would. Older people also happen to have worse side effects of chemotherapy. 

The amount of risk of cancer increases with age. Usually, surgeries improve the quality of life of the patient even though sometimes it cannot be extended much. Elderly people suffer from severe side effects when subjected to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, not to mention they also happen to recover slower than normal. One of the reasons why there has been an increase in the number of cases of cancer is because in recent years the lifespan of people has also increased. People are now living longer than before and hence the increase in cases amongst the elderly. 

Effects on the elderly –

Like any other disease and its treatment, surgery has its risks. the risks are higher when the person is older because the body grows fragile 

• Surgeries often make heart conditions worse. It is important to go through this aspect before surgery as most elderly have some sort of heart disease.
• Surgeries sometimes involve the use of drugs. The patient is also provided with a lot of fluid in order to keep the body active and working. If an older patient has some sort of kidney-related issues and their kidneys do not work well, surgery can cause problems because the kidneys need to process all the fluids and drugs.
• As a person gets older the amount of blood flowing to the liver can eventually cause problems. The breaking down of drugs takes place in the liver and if the liver of an elderly patient does not work as it is supposed to there is a chance that there will be some sort of reaction to the drugs that will be a part of the surgery.
• With the passage of age, lungs stop holding as much air as they used to. If an elderly patient has a lung condition they may face several problems while recovering from the anesthesia used during the surgery. This also includes the medications that are used before or during the surgery. The chances of getting pneumonia also increase if a patient has lung problems. 

Rising Care and diagnosis at home for elderly services –

Elderly patients suffering from cancer often want to be around and spend their time in the comfort of their homes as they already go through the hardship of a long and painful treatment of the disease. being surrounded by their family in a setting that they are familiar with provides them at least the emotional support that they need in these difficult times.

One of the leading eldercare service providers in Kolkata is Rising Care. They are a team of well-trained and passionate professionals who have dedicated their life in order to offer the best care to senior citizens. Rising Care was founded in 2013 and its motto is to pour all its efforts so that it can meet the ever-increasing need for senior care services. 

Rising care provides the patients with supportive cancer care so that they receive the treatment, care, and attention without having to be present constantly at the hospital. Their approach to taking care of cancer patients at home is solely based on the idea that older patients should receive the care they need without visiting the hospital. The continuity of treatment and care will no doubt improve the outcome for elderly people. 

Post cancer care for the elderly –

• It is common among the elderly to deal with a lot of side effects for which they usually have to visit the hospital. Instead, Rising care does the whole management of the procedure at the leisure of the home. Their trained staff provides everything that the patient needs.
• Their team constantly monitors vital signs like the pulse, temperature, VP of the patient and records them as well.
• Pain is one of the most common side effects and their team works with specialists in pain management so that they can do the treatment for pain relief at home itself. 

Conclusion

Suffering from cancer and its treatment as it is, can already be extremely difficult and mentally draining. This is why it is important to offer the patients with the utmost possible care by the family members especially if the patient in question is a senior citizen. Rising care’s senior care services in Kolkata are one of the best to choose for if you have a cancer patient at home who needs proper care and treatment.