Should Your Elderly Parent Get Screened for Cancer?

In your role as a family caregiver you know how important it is for you to help your elderly loved one get the care that they need to manage any health conditions that they might experience throughout their later years. It is also important, however, that you recognize the value of preventative and proactive care and take steps to help your parent protect their health and make vital decisions regarding their ongoing health care.

Elderly Care Lexington NC – Should Your Elderly Parent Get Screened for Cancer?

For many people, one such proactive measure is regular and routine health screenings, such as cancer screenings. The purpose of a screening is to identify health problems as early as possible in their development, or even before they develop, so that you can make better choices regarding the response to that health concern.

Screenings for issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease are relatively quick and can give you valuable information that you can readily apply to your care routine. When it comes to screening for cancer, however, you might find yourself questioning whether there is any real value in putting your parent through such a process.

Getting screened for cancer has the same purpose of getting screened for anything else. It is to give your parent information about their health and the opportunity to respond to any cancer that might be present. The American Cancer Society has different screening recommendations for people over the age of 65, recommending that the elderly either do not get some screenings if they have had negative results consistently before, or that they get screened less frequently. This is a very personal choice that must be made by your elderly parent and their medical team according to their particular situation.

Some things to keep in mind when trying to determine whether your elderly parent should get screened for cancer include:

• Age. Take into consideration your elderly parent’s age and the years that you expect them to live. If they were to discover that they had cancer, would it be realistic and practical for them to engage in any form of treatment aimed at curing it, or would that only cause them discomfort and illness in their last years?

• Health considerations. Seniors who are suffering from several other health complications or chronic disease tend to have a more difficult journey with cancer and its treatments, and less chance of survival. Have your parent engage in an open and honest conversation with their doctor about their health and how that would impact their experience with cancer, the success or experience with treatment, and their life expectancy.

• Personal willingness to pursue treatment. While you know that if you found out that you had cancer you would actively and aggressively seek treatment, this may not be the case for your aging parent. They might recognize that fighting cancer is extremely difficult and puts a major toll on the body, and with no guarantee of success it can simply diminish quality of life for the years that your aging parent has left. Encourage your parent to consider whether they would pursue treatment if they found out that they had cancer, and whether they think that it would give them any benefit to know that the cancer was present if they were not going to treat it.

• Health history. Even if your parent knows that they are not going to pursue any type of aggressive treatment for cancer that they might develop, encourage them to recognize the value of staying informed about their health. As many cancers have genetic components, knowing that they have a particular form of cancer can give you and future generations a clearer view of your health and potential issues that you might experience.

If your elderly loved one has recently been diagnosed with cancer, now may be the ideal time for you to consider starting elderly care for them. An elderly home care services provider can be with your elderly parent on a customized schedule that ensures that they always have access to the support, care, encouragement, and assistance that they need when they need it, while also encouraging them to maintain as much independence, autonomy, activity, engagement, and fulfillment as possible as they age in place.

This includes devising a highly personalized set of services tailored to not just their specific challenges, limitations, and health condition, but also the wishes that they have regarding their care and lifestyle during this journey. As their family caregiver this can give you a tremendous sense of confidence and peace of mind knowing that they are getting everything that they need and that their wishes are being respected both when you are with them and when you are not.

It is important to remember that no matter what type of cancer your elderly loved one is facing, they are on a journey that is personal to them. This means that it is critical that you give them the support and encouragement that they need to make the decisions that are right for them. An elderly care provider can help this happen by giving them companionship and support designed to help them make the decisions that they are comfortable with and then follow through with them throughout their care experience.

Source:  https://www.cancer.org/healthy/find-cancer-early/cancer-screening-guidelines/screening-recommendations-by-age.html#65_or_older

If you or an aging loved one are considering Elderly Care Services in Lexington NC, please contact the caring staff at Tender Hearted Home Care today. (704) 612-4132.