Four Ways to Support a Senior with Lung Cancer
Getting a diagnosis of lung cancer might be enough to throw even the most adaptable senior off her game. She’s going to need extra support from you and from other family members, so here’s what you can do.
Senior Care in Glencoe IL: Senior with Lung Cancer
Take Each Day as it Comes
It sounds like a cliché, but your senior is definitely going to experience some days that are better than others. What you can do that will help the most is to focus on the present and what is happening right now. You can’t predict tomorrow or even what will happen an hour from now, so be mindful of the present. This might change how you and your senior make plans for her each day, too, because how she feels will dictate what she’s able to do.
Follow a Care Plan
Work with your elderly family member’s doctors and with her to figure out how she wants to deal with her lung cancer diagnosis. Sometimes family members want to be more aggressive with their treatments than you expect, so it’s important that you don’t overlook what she wants. When you get that figured out, you can start to implement a solid care plan.
Get Some Routines in Place
Routines are going to help you and your aging adult to stay sane while you’re juggling bad days, treatments, and symptoms that seem to change all the time. Senior care providers can help you and your elderly family member to find the routines that work best for her needs. Following these routines is going to help you both to hit the goals that you have for your senior’s care. Senior care services can also take over the practical aspects of those routines and keep them running smoothly.
Keep the Focus on Living
So often when someone gets a frightening diagnosis like lung cancer the focus ends up being about death or about what your senor can no longer do. Make it a point to keep the focus on what she can still do and on what she enjoys doing. These are the things that will remind her how precious life is so that she can enjoy the time that she has left.
As your elderly family member’s health changes, so too will her needs. Keep an eye on what’s working for her and what isn’t. You can change and adjust what isn’t working so that she’s got the support and the tools in place that she needs the most.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Senior Care in Glencoe IL, call the caring staff at LifeCare Home Health & In-Home Services. Call (888) 606-4199 LifeCare serves all of the Chicago Metro Area.
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