Caring for a cancer patient can be an unpredictable, trying time for a caregiver – especially since there are a lot of unknowns, a lot of questions and a lot of doctor and treatment visits. Sometimes there are also unexpected trips to the emergency room, long hospital stays and even time spent in a rehabilitation facility.
The experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami – a state-of-the art, free-standing radiation treatment center in the heart of South Florida – understand why caregivers, friends and family ride the emotional rollercoaster along with their loved ones undergoing cancer treatments. And we have advice to help you care for the cancer patient in your life.
How to Care for a Cancer Patient: Primary Caregivers
You may have to help your loved one with grooming, bathing, eating, appointments, household chores and the list goes on and on — especially if you are the primary caregiver.
WebMD compiled a daily checklist to make that easier for you and your loved one. It includes tips for personal care, how to encourage healthy eating – even if that means meal replacement drinks and how to create daily routines under what is most likely a new normal.
You will likely need to advocate for your loved one by asking questions during appointments and treatments as well as doing research and taking care of a medication schedule.
We know none of this will be easy for you. And while it’s easier said than done — you must take care of yourself so you can take care of your loved one with cancer and others who may depend on you as well.
Here are a few ways to do that:
- Find some time to relax.
- Eat properly.
- Get rest.
- And know that it’s okay to ask for help. That doesn’t make you weak.
How to Care for a Cancer Patient: Friends and Family
For loved ones, friends and family, Caringbridge, a non-profit helping to support caregivers, offers these suggestions to help based on feedback from its community:
- Stay in touch.
- Be a good listener.
- Offer support at all stages.
- Spend time with the patient – whether at home or during treatment.
- Bring favorite foods to a cancer patient.
- Respect boundaries.
But as CancerResearchUK points out, everyone’s cancer journey is different, and while you might not always know what to do or say, being open and sensitive to the patient’s feelings should be top of mind.
And while you may be afraid to say the wrong thing to someone with cancer, remember that emotional support from friends and family can make a difference, according to research.
The Do List for Helping a Cancer Patient
Do tell them if you feel awkward. It acknowledges what’s going on instead of pretending everything is normal.
Do let that person know you are there if needed.
Do listen to them without judgement.
The Don’t List for Helping a Cancer Patient
Don’t take it personally if a cancer patient doesn’t want to talk.
Don’t compare that person’s situation to someone else’s. Everyone’s experience is unique.
Don’t tell that person you know how they feel because you likely do not.
Cancer Treatment Miami
One other key thing you can do is find a cancer treatment center that understands what the patient and the caregiver needs.
That’s what we do at CyberKnife Miami, and it’s what sets us apart from other places. Our job is to help you and your loved one navigate this difficult process with as little stress as possible.
“The most common comment I get from patients is that “you probably have no idea how good your staff is. They take a potentially frightening experience and make it a warm and friendly one,” says Dr. Mark Pomper, medical director of CyberKnife Miami and board-certified radiation oncologist when asked about what sets CyberKnife Miami apart from other cancer centers.
We help our patients and their families through treatments, scans, insurance questions, logistical issues, traveling, places to stay and things to do if they are coming in from out of town, and the list goes on.
CyberKnife Miami uses state-of-the-art image guided radiosurgery treatments — also known as Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy or SBRT — to treat cancer and other medical issues requiring radiation, like Trigeminal Neuralgia and arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
We also treat metastatic, spine, brain, lung, kidney, pancreas, liver, prostate, lymph nodes, and head and neck tumors. We also treat lymphoma and other conditions in the body where radiation treatment is necessary.
For a complete list go to our website and click on the tab, What We Treat.
Other important information: CyberKnife’s missile guidance technology enables its robotic arm to track a tumor’s movement in real time. That means if the patient moves, while on the treatment table, or even during the natural breathing process, the robot will stay on top of the tumor and the target site, continuously delivering radiation directly to the tumor, while minimizing any damage to healthy surrounding tissue. With CyberKnife, patients often need a much shorter course of treatment than with traditional radiation because of its precise, targeted radiation. For instance, prostate cancer patients require only about 5 CyberKnife treatment sessions, compared to other types of radiation, which require about 42 treatments. Fewer treatments is much more convienent, and less of a burden on patients and their families.
Yet the success rate is about the same. CyberKnife however, most often, does result in fewer if any side effects, again because it stays on its target, destroying tumors without damaging nearby tissue and vital organs.
What also sets us apart is our vast experience. Our doctors and staff are experts in the field of not just radiation therapy but CyberKnife radiation therapy because we are among those who have been doing it the longest, in fact we started doing it soon after the technology was first approved by the FDA in 2001.
And here’s another plus: We put patients first. Our team is very compassionate. This is about you, not us. We provide personalized care and treatment, not just for the patient but the family. We do everything we can to make the process as easy, painless, quick and successful as possible, so you can get cancer behind you and on with living life.
You will you immediately see a big difference in our team compared to other cancer centers from the time you make the first phone call to us, through your treatment and even after. We can be the difference you need when it comes to treating your cancer.
If you would like to find out more about treatment with CyberKnife and our team call us at 305-279-2900 or go to our website now for more information www.cyberknifemiami.com.