Tips for Caregivers:

A critical aspect of comfort care for cancer patients is their support system of family and friends.  The following are tips for caregivers to help you care for the patient as well as yourself.

Encourage visitors to keep their visits brief – While it is often very uplifting to the patient to have visitors, it can be exhausting as well. Ask those who want to visit to please call before they come to the hospital. Do not be afraid to ask people to keep their visits short, or to tactfully cut a visit short if the patient appears tired. The patients’ comfort and energy level are of the utmost importance, and it can vary. On any given day patients can’t predict when they may or may not be up for visitors, and it is often difficult for them to turn visitors away.  That is where it’s nice for the caregiver to step in and take the lead.

Write down questions for the doctor – This advice is for the patient as well as for the caregiver. Try to find out if the doctors have a standard time that they make rounds. That way you, or someone else, can be there as a second set of ears to hear what the doctor has to say. This can also be helpful during doctor’s appointments.  Be sure to ask the patient if he/she would like you to accompany him/her or to be present when the doctor makes rounds. Ultimately it is the patient’s choice and he/she does have the right to privacy.

Take care of yourself – Be sure to eat well and get plenty of rest.  Taking care of yourself insures that you have the stamina to continue to be there in whatever capacity you can for the patient. Often the caregivers’ life becomes focused on the hospital. Vending machine diets get old quickly and sap your energy.  Make sure to take a break from the hospital. Rather than having lots of people sitting at the hospital, take turns. Again, this insures that you can maintain a support system for the patient.

Patient Advocate – Despite their best intentions, hospital nurses and administrators might not have the time to give each patient as much individualized attention as that patient would like. It’s good to have someone with the patient as often as possible (consistent with the patient’s desires) to alert hospital staff to the patient’s needs and to supplement hospital staff in meeting some of the patient’s comfort (i.e. non-medical) needs.

The Importance of Touch – Human contact is critical at this time.  Most patients find massage very soothing. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK WITH THE DOCTOR before doing any kind of massage. Neck and shoulder massage, head massage, or foot massages are very effective.  If massage is not recommended, or is uncomfortable, be sure to hold the patient’s hand or hug him or her when you visit. Cancer treatment can often feel like an out-of-body experience. The loss of hair and weight can make a patient feel like he/she is looking at a stranger. Touching patients helps to reconnect them to themselves and to you, and it is very comforting.

Caregivers should also consider getting a massage. There are many emotional ups and downs associated with treatment that can take a toll on everyone. Take any opportunity you can to relieve stress; rest, exercise, or get a massage.