Oncology & Palliative Care at Home
At Care for Me Marbella we are equipped to provide what we call a complex care service in the home. One of the specialist areas within the complex services we offer is that of oncology and palliative care.
The difference between palliative care and a hospice service
Who needs these services and how do they differ from hospice care? The answer to the first part of that question is patients that:
- Have physical discomfort and need help with controlling it
- Are struggling with a new cancer diagnosis or cancer progression
- Need assistance making medical decisions
- Need assistance understanding a condition or prognosis
- Have complex home care needs
- Experience a number of unplanned stays in the hospital
Our oncology and palliative care differs from hospice care, because a patient does not need to be terminally ill to receive care from our qualified nurses, nor have they stopped being given life-prolonging treatments.
We assess a patient’s needs before discharge from hospital
The majority of patients with cancer would prefer to be at home when that is possible, and that is exactly what Care for Me in Marbella provides for anyone resident on the Costa del Sol. Especially anyone who is undergoing treatment after discharge from hospital; chemotherapy and radiotherapy are the main examples of this. And, we can also provide palliative care to those people who have finished a course of these treatments, but still need help with pain management and any other challenges they face, physical or emotional.
We send our Registered Nurse Manger to visit the patient prior to the time they leave hospital. Our staff work alongside the patient’s GP and hospital consultant to assess the person’s needs and devise a home care plan. When creating the plan, it is always our goal is to assist patients with cancer and their families to address the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual questions caused by cancer and cancer treatment.
The essence of palliative care
Our qualified nurses understand what the patient is going through and can provide them with the kind of care that enables them to feel more comfortable and gain more enjoyment from being at home with family. Your specialist oncology nurse can provide the following services:
- Expert treatment of symptoms such as pain, nausea, trouble sleeping, appetite loss, constipation and shortness of breath
- Help with making difficult decisions or understanding the condition
As with all palliative care, the focus is on providing relief from the symptoms and doing whatever is possible to remove stress and improve the patient’s quality of life. We also call palliative care, comfort care, because providing comfort and support is at the heart of this service, and Care for Me’s nursing staff are experts at giving the patient and family members the ease everyone deserves when coping with cancer.
Get in Touch
If you live on the Costa del Sol and you would like to discuss our oncology and palliative care service, all you have to do is schedule a free in-home consultation, by contacting our Client Care Manager on 0034 952 636 900 or by emailing info@careforme.es.