Essay about A Diagnosis of Cancer is Life Changing Experience

Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely

When one member of the family, especially a child has cancer, it affects the family. The child's attitude can change the whole family's attitude (Cancer and... 10). With cancer, a lot of emotional stress can be put on the family. They do not know if their loved one is going to make it through the hard fight with cancer (Edmond 14). The parents/caregivers also become stressed about things not involved with cancer, such as paying medical bills and the changing of the parent's work schedule. Especially because they

According to Allen et al. (2012), “millions of people with chronic illnesses endure unrelieved pain, uncontrolled physical symptoms and unresolved psychosocial or spiritual problems.” This issue occurs because palliative care is often considered a form of end-of-life care. Palliative care is a treatment that can be used for patients who suffer from chronic illnesses and diseases while receiving curative treatment. (Horowitz, Grambling & Quill, 2014) purposely states the misconceptions of palliative care and advocated for seriously ill patients that education must bring under control the misconceptions. Some patients do not receive appropriate symptom management because the palliative care treatment needed is often confused with end-of-life care. However, end-of-life care attempts to relieve pain and suffering when a disease is no longer responsive to curative treatment. Pain and suffering could ultimately be controlled or even eliminated through the proper utilization of palliative care. Patients who are not referred to palliative care in a timely manner is more likely to have poor quality of life, uncontrolled symptom management and increased amounts of visits to the emergency room during the disease process. Patients with life limiting illnesses bear the burden of increased discomfort and increased suffering. Nurses experience clinical practice issues and difficulties in the clinical setting during the delivery of comfort and symptom management. These issues

Cancer has one of the biggest effects on the patients mental health but also the patients loved ones and friends. It is one of the hardest things to get a grip on when the doctor tells someone that they have cancer and a fifty-fifty chance of making it. "The disease can bring many changes-in what people do and how they look, in how they feel and what they value" (Dakota 4). It makes people look at the world and their lives in a different way, valuing now what they took for granted and seeing the bigger picture in every scenario. It is something that no one can actually brace, even after the doctor tells them. Through it all though, the person must remain strong and optimistic because the cancer can affect the person's moods and in return affect the outcome of the person and the chances of their making it

Not only does cancer diagnosis affect the cancer patient, it affects everybody in their life. The feeling you have can be overwhelming for everybody in the family. One of the greatest effects of cancer can be your marriage(4). You experience so much anger, anxiety, and sadness. In some cases, it can make you have a stronger relationship with your wife or husband. You also can bet you will see a change in your childs’ behavior. Young children are used to getting all of the attention. When they aren’t getting attention due to one of the parents being sick, they will act out. It can make the older children realize and appreciate the sick parents more. It’s very important to talk with your children about what is happening in the family with the cancer diagnosis, and how important they are to one another. You and your family members may need to get therapy to help deal with everything you are going throught. It can put a strain on all your relationships. It is exhaustion, physically, mentally, and

Cumulative grief is known as a caregiver’s emotional response to many episodes of grief (Shorter & Stayt). The multiple encounters with death give a nurse no opportunity to grieve adequately or completely for each individual patient that has died (Shorter & Stay, 2010). The unresolved grief accumulates and can lead to emotional and physicals problems which can then effect a nurse professionally and personally (Shorter & Stayt, 2010). The effects of cumulative grief include denial, feelings of decreased personal competency, overwhelming grief, low self-esteem, and pre-occupation with death (Shorter & Stayt,

When it comes to the experience of grief that goes along with a terminal diagnosis or death the focus of care, therapy, and concern is often placed solely on the patient and his or her family and friends, and rightly so (Woolhouse, Brown & Thind, 2012). However, the health care professionals that help to care for these patients and their loved ones are often left in the shadows to cope with the grief that they may be feeling, alone (Woolhouse, Brown & Thind, 2012). Often, their grief is deemed unacceptable by their colleagues and society, and they are certainly not provided with the same level of care as someone who is experiencing real grief, first-hand (Leming & Dickinson, 2016). This paper discusses the differences that health

Family caregivers struggle with tensions and dilemmas during a period in which their whole life changes dramatically. Research has documented the effect that the patient's cancer has on the emotional, physical, social, and spiritual well being of the caregiver. This increased responsibility for the caregiver can come at great cost to the overall functioning of the entire family, because of role alterations, changes in the family structure, and financial stressors, among others. There also is a physical, emotional, and financial toll associated with caregiving. Caregivers can experience adverse effects on their mental and physical health that can remain long after the caregiving role has

Palliative care is a relatively new concept. Palliative care programs have become more numerous and better utilized since 2000 and continue to grow. It is now accepted that the palliative care model is appropriate for patients with life-limiting illnesses. Chan et al. (2013) stated that the ultimate goal of palliative care is to relieve suffering and to maximize the quality of life for dying patients and their families, regardless of the stage of illness or the need for other medical treatments (p. 133). As life-expectancy increases, there is a growing need for these services. People are living longer with chronic diseases and palliative care services can provide an extra layer of support to patients and their families. Evidence has shown that 13% - 36% of hospital inpatients qualify for palliative care services (Robinson, Gott, & Ingleton, 2014).

Dying due to an incurable illness can be devastating With responsibility of caretaking falling chiefly on the patient’s family. While dealing with the normal every day activities that families encounter, becoming a primary caregiver to the terminally ill is an emotional as well as financial burden. The ill person usually lives in the house of a family member, which forces the family to witness the person dying every day. Having to watch a person suffer in your own home is depressing to even the strongest of people and knowing there is nothing that can be done to stop their pain makes things that much worse. Studies have shown that people who receive a terminal illness diagnosis become depressed and develop anxiety. Because of the mood disorders that can

The authors MacKinnon, Smith, Henry, Milman, Berish, Farrace, Korner, Chochinov, and Cohen (2016) revealed a receipt of the several financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of the article. The Canadian institute of Health Research (CIHR) studentship to the main author: the CIHR/Canadian Cancer Society Stratiegic Training Program in Palliative Care Research and the Family Caregiving at End of Life New Emerging Team (Mackinnon, Smith, Henry, Milman, Berish, Farrace, Cohen, 2016).

Carr, B. (2013). Psychological aspects of cancer: A guide to emotional and psychological consequences of cancer, their causes and their management. New York: Springer.

This chapter written by Rose and Daste provide mental health professionals with information and recommendations to establish sensitivity within the make-up of the groups supporting those with cancer (Grief & Ephros, 2010). The authors also provide insight on the complexities and differences among a group of people that have a generally similar medical diagnosis, such as cancer, but a myriad of uniqueness (Grief & Ephros, 2010).

There are many events that stand out in my life that were significant and helped me grow stronger. One of these events stands out in particular to me and had the greatest impact in my life. When I attended high school my focus was never on the academics but only on sports and having fun with my friends. I never payed attention for more than five seconds and failed to complete any type of work given to me. My lack of care for high school affected me on going to a four year college, playing a sport in college, and taking remedial classes.

Have you ever lost someone you loved? How did you feel? I would have never guessed that cancer would take someone so important in my family.