Is anyone a hospice worker that deals with cancer patients?
554179
I don't know if I'd qualify as a "hospice worker" persay, but I do work very closely with cancer patients and the dying.\n\nThe reason I do it is because I CAN do it.  A dying person wants to feel normal.  They don't want people around them that only have pity in their eyes, or don't know what to say.  I talk, laugh, joke even gossip with them - make them forget that they have a terminal illness, just treat them as I would if we were at lunch together.  And I listen when they want to talk, and I put my arms around them and hold them when they cry.\n\nI've sat with their bodies after they've passed and help the family deal with the shock.\n\nIt's a very difficult thing in many ways but I take comfort in every laugh from the patient, every smile, every memory shared.  And yes, I cry each time one passes.  The day I don't feel anything is the day I should never do this again.
955681
Do you have a nurse manager that you can bring your concerns to? They can get policies in place to make others follow. Otherwise, you may want to consider other places of employment. Chemo administration standards are becoming more strict and you should be following at least minimum standards before someone gets killed.
500362
Contact hospice they will decide if he should be on the program. You have to promise not to call the EMT.  When he has a problem hospice will resolve it for you. If you place him in a hospital without hospices permission you are off the program.  The Dr, statement is a good reason for hospice.  Also because you will get 24hr. 7days a week support.  Whatever hospice recommend Medicare will pay for. Medical equipment medicines aide Rn supervision once a week unless you will call with a problem. Then they will come      whenever night or day, someone is always on call.  If the person doesn't die they are not removed from the program unless they are cured. They will be kept as comfortable as possible.  A social worker will visit once a week . On call if other visits are needed. All sorts of support people are provided and paid for.  The down side as far as I am concerned is that they will not provide IV fluids just for hydration. The rest of the program is excellent. You don't end up with a ton of medical bills and you get a lot of compassionate care.  Not a lot of poking and painful tests and treatments. I think everyone should have hospice care on their last days!
1060034
Sometimes treatment doesnt work. It didnt work on my dad, he passed away because of lung cancer.  But it did work for my mom, that is a breast cancer survivor.  So it's not up to us or the doctors who are the lucky ones that get to live.
1138717
absolutely! I would never send them to the hospital or nursing home that is just cruel. I see it like this...my loved one sacrificed many times in there life for me and now it is my turn to sacrifice just a small part of my life for them. \n\nMy family means the world to me and it would be selfish of me to just shove them in a home or hospital because i couldn't handle it. I just had to choke it up and make myself strong. \n\nThere are also many sources that provide help and support for you and your loved one. hospice is wonderful and will help every step of the way.
997819
might want to check and see if any laws will be broke??you could donate to local cancer society?? help someome in needy situation?call the dr you got them from he may have someone who is in need?
390168
yes i have helped several today.. i work at a nursing home and that is my job.. i love my job and have been doing this for 23 years now..elderly peeps are great.
134500
You can look up info on the internet just by searching for breast cancer or cancer as the topic.  To find someone to talk to in person call your local hospital for a reference to an organiztion that deals with cancer patients and/or surivivors.  Hospice is an excellent organization...They have connections to diet and holisitc treatments, not only for those who are close to death, but also for those who are full of life.  An oncologist is an expert in cancer therapies including a good diet to promote healing or to promote optimal health during chemo and/or radiation therapy.
856410
My poor grandfather had prostate cancer, which is supposedly one of the slowest-growing cancers there is.  He was in the hospital for something unrelated, and out of nowhere started getting sicker.  He lost his appetite, and over the course of a couple of days, started having difficulty walking and talking.  \n\nMy grandmother questioned the same thing that you did, so she questioned one of the nurses as to whether his cancer had metastasized.  The nurse more or less brushed her off and said, "No, prostate cancer wouldn't grow that fast."\n\nWell, to make a long story short, he kept getting worse and worse, until finally his lungs and kidneys shut down.  As it turned out, he had developed a secondary, fast-growing cancer that had metastasied all over his body within a matter of weeks.\n\nBy the time this was discovered, he was far too sick for any form of traditional treatment, and we unfortunately lost him very quickly after that.\n\nI certainly hope that this isn't the case with your friend... some of what she's experiencing could be the side effects of the chemotherapy.  Although I've never heard anyone "talking funny" from chemo, I'm certainly not an expert on the subject. \n\nI just wanted to share my story with you, because it still makes us sick that my grandma questioned his prognosis and was told that it couldn't have spread.  I guess we'll always wonder if he could have been helped had they acted sooner.\n\nI certainly don't have any advice for you on how to approach your friend... it's very hard to question others' judgment when it comes to the way they're treating their cancer, especially when you're not the one paying the bills.  I unfortunately know this far too well from experience... I guess all you can do is sit down with her husband by himself and discuss your fears.  It's hard, though, because you don't want to place any undue worry on him.\n\nI don't know how close of a relationship you have with this couple, but if you don't want to worry them directly, is it possible to pull one of her oncologists aside and talk it over with them?  I don't know if she's in the hospital or not, but that might be a good way to go about it.  If you feel like there's nothing you can do without overstepping your bounds, I guess all you can do is hope that the doctors notice what you have... but that's not always the case, either.\n\nSorry if I wasn't more help... at any rate, I wish you the best.  If you're at all religious or spiritual, maybe a prayer for guidance is in order.  If you're not... just listen to your heart, I guess.  :)
1070379
I dont know about that one. However, we have a couple of hospices down South - my uncle ended his life in one.  You must be going through a terrible time but, please be assured, this is the reason that hospices were set up.  Many terminally ill people to not wish to die in a depressing hospital ward, but need too much care to be allowed home.  Hospices provide a warm, calm and relaxing environment for patients to spend their last days in.  They provide a comfortably and serene alternative to noisy hospitals.  The staff are all specialists in serious and terminal illness and will take very great care of your dear Mum.   I hope this will be of some comfort to you.
406879
Dealing with a life threatening cancer is certainly a life changing event for the family (along with the obvious for the one who is afflicted). Watching my father die this year (even though for much of it i was away at school) has been the most difficult thing ive had to deal with in my life. Seeing someone that you love and respect so much slowly go from an active person, to a sedentary person, to a dying person is a difficult transformation to witness. There is always some form of bad news as the cancer slowly defeats some of the different methods that are used at times to treat the illness. You tend to experience every emotion in small bits. First theres a lot of fear and denial, because although there are so many different forms of cancer, and so many people get the disease, its never going to happen to us, we thought. Then theres anger and despair, and just an incredible sense of loss as you realize some of the things that will hopefully happen someday in my life that he cant be there for.\n\nYet you begin to realize that you are not alone, and that life really is a precious thing. I became so much more thankful for the 19 years i got with my dad (sadly a lot of this was after he passed, as it was too tough for me to be around him while he was in his final weeks). Although you have to deal with the slow dying process, you get to spend so much more time with them, than if death had come quickly from an acute illness. You begin to value the things which you take for granted from before. The difficulties never go away during the process, but every little bit that Dad fought, along with the good moments made life worthwhile. \n\nonce i made peace with the idea that he would die, there was a pretty horrible sense of waiting, because you know eventually it will come (if its terminal). But you realize that you have time, and that is a beautiful thing. Ironically, ive learned to love who my dad was more since he has gone than while i was an ungrateful teen (or maybe i just didnt realize how i loved the man).\n\nFortunatly all cancer is not fatal, and there is a lot of hope for a cure. Im now a better person for the difficult process, and ive learned to have empathy for my fellow man and woman. I love my dad, and the fact that he is gone doesnt take away from the wonderful 19 years i got with him.
143339
As human beings we have dominion over the earth and all of the creatures.  The only one that has dominion over us is God.  This does not mean we have to die without dignity or respect.When and if your time is drawing near there are wonderful hospice organizations that can help you pass comfortably and respectfully.  It is usually the wish of the dying, or their families, to continue every possible measure of life support.  I am a big Hospice fan for the terminally ill, but it is always a personal descision.\n\nI also want to add, that yes i have seen both sides, those that pass with hospice and those without. Hospitals have in place what is called "Risk Managment" Coordinators or nurses, that will review all legal stipulations, if they feel someone is being kept alive by artificial means and their suffering is being prolonged when the outcome is inevitably death.  there are laws against this. and then like i said if you choose to pass with grace, hospice is the way to go, they can prescribe and give pain managment, and may not legally be allowed to give you enough to cause you to pass, but you will be very very comfortable. so really i think peoples families are usually to blame, sometimes their afraid, and want to hold on, but yes like the other answer sometimes their motives are financailly selfish, and its just so sad to see that.
229972
to be honest, I'm not sure, but i have had experience with dealing with a close relative with pancreatic cancer, so feel free to get in touch to chat, on sproutly.chick@virgin.net
1137455
You could talk to the patient's family and without being a tattletale or a rat, ask how their parent is doing.   Suggest that their loved one may be a little upset lately.   Their voice will override your complaint.  Try not to get caught doing this, you could stir up trouble and then nothing would get accomplished.  After all aren't you there for the welfare and care of the elderly?
646752
When I worked on a private ambulance, there was an elderly lady with breast cancer we used to transport on a regular basis to get radiation treatment. I got to know her pretty well. She didn't have any family. Well, She was in need of some heavier pajama's so that she wouldn't be as cold, and didn't have to take the entire thing off for her treatment. So I bought her 3 or 4 new sets of pajamas to wear. She was really happy about it and it made me feel great.
220133
You need better phrasing. Are you trying to do a presentation on the caregiver's quality of life? Or are you talking about the patient's quality of life.\n\nIf you are talking about the former, then try researching hospice caregiver's payscales and divorce rates, and try to link their working conditions with money and marital stability.\n\nIf you wanted to study patient quality of life, then you could focus on geriatric diabetics since that's a growing trend.
923197
no but have worked in nursing home as live in and others as care assistant and have been trustee to a mental health charity for 3 yrs why you got a question?