Wouldn’t it be a comfortable idea to have you continue your regular life while being treated athome for cancer rather than be lodged at a high-tech cancer centre or hospital for days on end? It’s not a far fetched dream but a bustling reality. Cancer care at home is now not only possible but is also a better alternative to hospital-based cancer treatment. Many countries today believe that home is a better place to treat and beat cancer. A primary reason for this is that it is probably one of the first steps to patient-centred cancer care that ensures emotional and psychological aspects of the patient’s condition are taken care of.

Home cancer care has obvious benefits to the patient, the oncologist, and even cancer care as a whole. Before heading on to what benefits cancer homecare has for patients, let’s look at the big picture. Oncology care at home has become a popular option as it reduces the financial costs associated with cancer care. This tends to reduce the financial burden of cancer care to the hospitals, insurance companies and the governments of the countries. Apart from this, it reduces the hospital stays and patients visit only during an emergency or scheduled follow-up visits. This ensures that oncology centres and hospitals are not over-crowded or over-burdened and all patients are given appropriate time and care.

But, how do cancer homecare services benefit patients?

Here are the top 7 ways effective homecare can benefit cancer patients!
  • Better management of symptoms and medications
With the various homecare cancer services available, patients can hire a registered nurse or a personal attendant who can help them in resolving their symptoms, and ordering and ensuring they take their medications every day. The oncologists can track the health of their patients and make sure their treatment is on-track. Together, this homecare paradigm ensures better management of both symptoms and medications as compared to the patient running to the hospital or cancer care centre every now and then.
  • Optimized treatment outcomes and reduced delay in treatment
With cancer homecare becoming a mainstream component of overall cancer care, oncologists are now optimizing their consulting time in a cancer care centre or hospital and are able to monitor their patients better at home. This has led to better outcomes and a marked reduction in delays in treatment.
  • Improved quality of life
If given a choice, all of us would love to be treated within the comfortable, peaceful confines of the place we call ‘home’. It has been widely researched and studied that home cancer care has shown better results and outcomes and at the same time, improved the quality of life of the patients. This has also resulted in greater satisfaction among patients about their treatment, and healthcare provider.
  • Increased emotional and psychological support to the patient

Being treated for cancer at home has a very important advantage – the emotional and psychological support that the patient gets from family, and loved ones. No matter how brave you are, your heart will always want your loved ones close to it and what better place than home to do so, isn’t it?

It has been widely observed that cancer patients who are being treated at home have stronger will power and developmental and emotional strength because of being close to their loved ones.

  • Reduced waiting times, hospital visits and hospital stays

Be it cancer or any other condition, a medical emergency requires you to visit the hospital at the earliest. But, in chronic conditions or long-term treatments like cancer, patients often find themselves rushing to their healthcare provider or cancer care centre quite often. This results in frequent hospital visits, increased waiting times and many days of hospital stays. This increases the patient’s economic burden too.
However, with home cancer care becoming popular, it can be expected that there will be reduced waiting times, hospital visits and stays.

  • More economical than hospital-based treatment
Home cancer care is far less expensive than hospital or centre-based setups. So, shifting a large part of cancer treatment home makes treatment very affordable for the patients and prevents an increase in their financial burden for medical expenses.
  • Prevents hospital-based complications in high-risk patients

Getting frequently admitted to the hospital for cancer care increases the patient’s risk of developing hospital-based infections or other related complications. But, shifting a major part of treatment home gives the patient a more safe and secure environment to heal completely.
After having gone through some obvious benefits of home cancer care, we realise that it is more flexible, accessible, effective, safe, efficient and economically sustainable. The outcomes and prognosis of many cancer patients who are being treated for cancer care at home have significantly improved. The reason for this is that patients being treated for cancer at home are more motivated to adhere or stick to their treatment plans and medication routine and do not give up midway. This continuity of care is important for successful treatments.
Cancer home care services are now becoming increasingly prevalent and are in fact, the future of cancer care!

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