When someone suffers from cancer, the amount of care that they need tends to go up when compared to other elderly individuals in need of care. A recent study looked at different health conditions and how they impacted the caregivers that were tasked with helping. The study came from the National Alliance for Caregiving, and it was based on a survey of about 1,200 caregivers.
This study found that caregivers looking after an older loved one suffering from cancer were 63 percent more likely to have a larger burden of care than those caring for someone that did not have cancer. Those that cared for someone with cancer also were reporting that they spent about 50 percent more time actually providing care than those caring for someone without the disease, on average. While it wasn’t the case every single time, those caregivers that helped someone with cancer were far more likely to have a larger workload than not. If you have a loved one with cancer, you might find yourself in this situation, too.
Cancer is often one of the most devastating illnesses that someone can suffer from. Many types of cancer are treatable and a full recovery is expected, while many others types of cancer have the exact opposite predicted prognosis. It is hard to tell what you should expect from a loved one when the words “cancer” are first heard out of their doctor’s mouth, and it can be very easy to assume the worst. The burden that this places upon a caregiver can be especially troublesome. Family caregivers and professional caregivers both feel this strain.
It’s estimated that there are 2.8 million family caregivers in the United States right now. There are also thousands of professional caregivers. The above cited survey did not specifically pay attention to only family caregivers, but it was implied that they made up the bulk majority of those that were surveyed. Professional in-home caregivers can be a great way to ease a lot of the burden that family caregivers face, and when a family caregiver is helping someone that they love battle cancer, that burden is even more troublesome, research shows. Caregivers face a whole set of difficulties, ranging from emotional and physical stress, to financial difficulties.
The study pointed to how the care for cancer patients can often be cyclical in nature. When someone is going through a round of intense chemotherapy, the duties that a caregiver will be facing will be much tougher than when that person is not going through the same type of treatment. These times take a great toll on people, and a respite caregiver is often the best way to handle this additional stress. Respite caregivers are not often used, but not because they are not helpful. Usually, people avoid using a respite caregiver because they don’t know that this kind of service even exists. If there is a local professional in-home care service that you know and trust, it could be worth contacting them today to see if they provide a service that would help you while you care for an elderly loved one.
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