Each year nearly 1,700,000 million people throughout the United States are diagnosed with some type of cancer, and nearly 600,000 will die. This journey can be tremendously emotional and difficult for your aging parent, but also for you as their family caregiver. This is a time when making decisions will be extremely important and one of your most valuable responsibilities will be helping them to make the decisions that are right for them.

Use these tips to help your senior make the decisions about their cancer journey that are right for them:

• Talk about it in advance. The impact of finding out that they have cancer can bring up a wide range of emotions that might cloud their ability to make decisions. Help them to handle this more confidently by talking to them about their wishes for their cancer journey before they even receive their diagnosis. This enables them to think about the possibility more clearly and start recording their opinions and wishes so that you can then review them with them if the need arises.
• Help them understand their options. When your aging parent hears that they have cancer it is likely that their first thought will be how they are going to treat it. Encourage them to find out about all of the different options that are available to them, even if that means getting another opinion from a different doctor or even multiple doctors. Help them to understand each of these options and how they apply to their specific situation so that they can select the one that is right for them.
• Support them. Even though you are their caregiver and will be a major part of their experience, this is their journey and it is important that they do what is right for them. This means that they might have opinions or make decisions that are different from yours, and you might disagree with how they handle this journey. It is critical that you put your focus on supporting them and helping them to feel confident and secure about the decisions that they make so that they do what is really right for them and now what they think that others want from them.

If your elderly loved one has recently been diagnosed with cancer, now may be the ideal time for you to consider starting senior care for them. A senior home care services provider can be with your elderly parent on a customized schedule that ensures that they always have access to the support, care, encouragement, and assistance that they need when they need it, while also encouraging them to maintain as much independence, autonomy, activity, engagement, and fulfillment as possible as they age in place. This includes devising a highly personalized set of services tailored to not just their specific challenges, limitations, and health condition, but also the wishes that they have regarding their care and lifestyle during this journey. As their family caregiver this can give you a tremendous sense of confidence and peace of mind knowing that they are getting everything that they need and that their wishes are being respected both when you are with them and when you are not. This care provider can be a particularly valuable source of companionship, emotional support, and encouragement as your parent is going through their cancer journey. From diagnosis through their treatment, this care provider can help your parent deal with their emotions and pursue a lifestyle that is as fulfilling and engaged as possible during their last years.

For more information about how the caregivers at La Jolla Nurses Homecare can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, call 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable senior care in La Costa, CA, and the surrounding communities.

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Brittnei Salerno

Owner at La Jolla Nurses Homecare

“My mother, Lorraine Salerno, founded La Jolla Nurses Homecare in 1977.

Today we are the oldest and most experienced private duty agency in San Diego County.She saw a need for quality private duty home health care and she worked diligently to build an agency that filled that need.I am proud to say, her vision is carried on today with our dedicated staff.

I believe our tenure in the community speaks well for us.We have had the opportunity to be of service to countless interesting individuals, including local and worldwide celebrities.It is the people we care for that makes this a fascinating industry.Whether high profile or a more ordinary citizen, we are proud that thousands have entrusted us with their care or the care of their loved ones.Our Mission is to provide high quality, very secure and the most compassionate home health care.We believe that patients heal faster and are happiest when they can stay in their homes.”

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