Caregiving

Caregivers have many roles. The roles change as the patient's needs change during and after cancer treatment. Caregivers serve as home health aides and companions. They may help feed, dress, and bathe the patient. Caregivers arrange schedules, manage... Full Answer

Caregivers are family or friends who provide personal care and/or financial assistance to a parent, other elderly or disabled family member or friend. They may also set up medications, provide transportation, help with housecleaning or yard work, provide... Full Answer

To locate a hospice program, ask a doctor for a referral or contact the Hospice Foundation of America or the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization to find local programs. As you consider hospice programs, the Hospice Foundation of... Full Answer

Hospice care is flexible and can be molded to fit the needs and lifestyles of the patient and his or her caregivers. Care is primarily focused on making the patient as comfortable as possible when a cure can no longer be expected. Hospice... Full Answer

Hospice programs vary greatly but generally share certain characteristics: Range of services: Hospice staff can administer pain medications, provide nursing care, and offer emotional support. Before and after a death, emotional support is extended... Full Answer

Women who cared for a disabled spouse for at least nine hours a week were significantly more at risk of having a heart attack or dying from heart disease compared with women who had no caregiving duties, according to findings from the Nurses'... Full Answer

If you have Alzheimer's disease, an advance directive for health care should be prepared. Although a living will is the best-known document of this type, people with Alzheimer's disease and their families should be aware of its narrow... Full Answer

A legal document called a durable power of attorney is usually the most straightforward way for a person with Alzheimer's disease to grant another person (generally the caregiver) the power to make decisions on his or her behalf regarding... Full Answer

Cultural sensitivity adds an important dimension to health care. Sometimes a caregiver must act as a go-between, explaining customs to both health care personnel and the patient and brainstorming ways to get beyond possible hurdles to good medical care.... Full Answer

One difficulty inherent in creating advance care directives is the impossibility of knowing the exact circumstances under which they will be invoked, what medical options will be available, and how the ailing person's feelings might change. For these... Full Answer