Palliative care can benefit patients suffering from breast cancer in a number of ways. Palliative care doesn’t treat cancer, but it can help patients feel more comfortable and enjoy a better quality of life. While receiving care from Regional Cancer Care Associates, an oncologist may recommend certain palliative services and therapies to help manage a patient’s condition. These may include any of the following:
Breast cancer affects every patient differently. For example, depending on whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, patients may experience a variety of symptoms. On top of that, radiation, chemotherapy, surgery and other treatments may cause additional side effects.
As a result, a patient with breast cancer may experience any of these symptoms at a given time:
Most of these symptoms can usually be managed with palliative care. For example, switching a patient’s medications or diet may help curb nausea. Likewise, increasing pain medications or prescribing antidepressants may also help some patients with breast cancer.
While dealing with breast cancer, it’s normal for patients to have questions, concerns and worries about their body, their treatment and their future. In this case, their doctor may recommend that a palliative care team or a therapist offer emotional and spiritual help. The team can help ease a patient’s fears and be a friend to him or her during this difficult time. It doesn’t matter whether patients have their own support system or not – they can still find solace in palliative care.
This is part of the reason why palliative care is often referred to as “comfort care” or “supportive care.” A patient’s emotional, mental and spiritual health is just as important to well-being as his or her physical health. Feeling happy and hopeful can help some patients feel stronger in their fight against cancer and potentially increase their chances of survival.
Because breast cancer can alter many aspects of a patient’s life, sometimes patients might require help dealing with more practical issues, like insurance or transportation. Part of offering palliative care to patients is giving them the access to counselors, organizations and other resources they need.
For more information or to schedule an appointment,
call 844-346-7222. You can also schedule an appointment by calling the RCCA location nearest you.
To ensure that patients receive uninterrupted, high-quality cancer care while avoiding unnecessary trips during the coronavirus outbreak, Regional Cancer Care Associates, LLC (RCCA) is offering
If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with cancer, it might seem counterintuitive to pass on treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation. However,
Palliative care services are designed to help make living with cancer more comfortable. Whether it’s managing your pain level after a surgery or arranging financial
Regional Cancer Care Associates is one of fewer than 200 medical practices in the country selected to participate in the Oncology Care Model (OCM); a recent Medicare initiative aimed at improving care coordination and access to and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
