Parent Have Cancer and Depressed? Some Options to Help Them

If your parent has cancer, it would not be surprising if they were also depressed, especially if they are at the end of their life. Fortunately, there are some things that may help them feel less depressed. Two of these things are listed below so you can determine what would work best for your parent.

Palliative Care

Palliative care can be provided to your parent by doctors and nurses that have been trained in this type of care. Other specialists will also partake in this care, such as psychologists that work with the end of life.

Palliative care is like hospice, but the difference is that this type of care can start as soon as your parent is diagnosed. Hospice care comes in at the end of a person's life.

Palliative care focuses on making your parent comfortable by addressing their symptoms, such as pain and depression. They will help you understand all of your parent's treatment options. They also work with your parent's doctor. The palliative-care team can recognize your parent's symptoms better than you can, so they can provide your parent with treatment.

For treatment, the palliative care team may suggest your parent speak to a psychologist, or they may also treat the depression with medication. The doctor will treat pain your parent is feeling.

Palliative care can be beneficial for you because they can give you a much better understanding of your parent's cancer and the stages they will go through toward the end of their life. This can help you better care for them.

Palliative care may be done at a rehab facility or in your home. This is completely up to your parent's doctor.

Support Groups

There are likely support groups in your area of people dealing with cancer. Finding a group with your parent's particular type of cancer can be very helpful. Ask their doctor if they can recommend any of these groups. This support group may be available within the hospital that may meet several times per week.

If you are in a small town, you may have more trouble finding a support group. If so, your parent can find support groups online, such as through social media and forums of people that have the same type of cancer your parent has. This allows them to chat with other like-minded people any time they wish day or night, and they can form some very close relationships.

Your parent has a two to three times higher chance of developing depression due to cancer when compared to the general population. For this reason, keep a close watch on your parent to look for signs of depression. Talk to a company such as Corner Home Medical to learn more.

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