American College Of Physicians Home Care Guide For Cancer: How To Care For Family And Friends At Home

by Peter Houts (Editor)

Overview

Friends and family who provide care at home are an important part of the health care team, and they are most effective when given proper guidance from health care professionals. Shorter hospital stays and greater reliance on outpatient care for persons with cancer are shifting a significant part of medical care into the hands of family members and friends. To carry out these responsibilities, family caregivers need information and guidance from health professionals. More important, they need encouragement to become active problem solvers rather than passively seeking all the solutions from medical professionals.

Written for a broad audience, this easy-to-use workbook was designed for home caregivers, patients, support groups, and education programs; it features easy-to-read type and an index for quick reference. The authors include oncology nurses, social workers, psychologists, physicians, family caregivers, and persons with cancer.

Home Care Guide for Cancer offers advice on twenty common cancer caregiving problems, including:

• How to succeed at caregiving • Fever and infections • Tiredness and fatigue • Appetite • Problems with the mouth • Nausea and vomiting • Diarrhea • Constipation Cancer pain • Veins • Bleeding • Skin problems • Maintaining positive experiences • Getting companionship and support from family and friends • Getting information from medical staff • Getting help from community agencies and support groups • Moving around the house • Coordinating care from one treatment setting to another • Coping with anxiety • Coping with depression. "A valuable resource for any cancer caregiver involved with home care . . . The mundane (fatigue, constipation), the scary (fever, sexual problems, bleeding), and the technical (vein and mouth problems) are covered with practicality and aplomb. All chapters direct the acquisition of skills that lead to successful coping . . . This [is a] concise, jargon-proofed, user-friendly volume."—Journal of the American Medical Association

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780943126302
Publisher:	American College of Physicians
Publication date:	04/28/1996
Series:	American College of Physicians Homecare Series
Pages:	261
Product dimensions:	8.57(w) x 10.98(h) x 0.72(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Peter Houts is professor of behavioral science and medicine at Penn State University's College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Solving Problems Using the Home Care Guide for Cancer
Chapter 2. Succeeding at Caregiving
Chapter 3. Fever and Infections
Chapter 4. Tiredness and Fatigue
Chapter 5. Problems with Appetite
Chapter 6. Problems with the Mouth
Chapter 7. Nausea and Vomiting
Chapter 8. Diarrhea
Chapter 9. Constipation
Chapter 10. Cancer Pain
Chapter 11. Problems with Veins
Chapter 12. Problems with Bleeding
Chapter 13. Skin Problems
Chapter 14. Hair Loss
Chapter 15. Sexual Problems
Chapter 16. Maintaining Positive Experiences
Chapter 17. Getting Companionship and Support from Family and Friends
Chapter 18. Problems with Getting Information From Medical Staff
Chapter 19. Getting Help from Community Agencies and Volunteer Groups
Chapter 20. Moving Around the House
Chapter 21. Coordinating Care From One Treatment Setting to Another
Chapter 22. Coping With Anxiety
Chapter 23. Coping With Depression
Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
Description: This is a how-to manual for lay people (such as family members) who are caring for a cancer patient at home. It is divided into sections by types of problem, e.g., pain, appetite, etc.
Purpose: Its purpose is to help lay people who are caring for a cancer patient at home by giving them enough specific information that they will better be able to handle common clinical problems as they arise. It is a response to the shift of the majority of cancer care in the U.S. to the outpatient and home settings.
Audience: It is ostensibly written for the non-health-care professional who is the primary caregiver for a cancer patient at home. The majority of the contributors are nurses.
Features: The manual relies on written descriptions, in clearly marked sections, of common clinical problems, their likely causes, and steps the caregiver should take to manage them. There is a paucity of illustrations. It specifically distinguishes clinical observations or patient complaints that should prompt the caregiver to seek professional advice.
Assessment: This spiral-bound manual would be most useful for a cancer patient's family members who are anxious about their task. It is not meant as a library reference book or as a teaching tool for health professionals. The book is designed to be accessed by section as needed, rather than as a text that must be read cover-to-cover. I suspect it will be less useful for those caregivers who lack a good command of the written English language; the vocabulary is large and some concepts presented are complex. Despite its size and scope, it lacks a section summarizing the general goals of the various types of anticancer therapy that necessitate the kind of care that is described.

Doody's Review Service

A valuable resource for any cancer caregiver involved with home care. . . The mundane, the scary, and the technical are covered with practicality and aplomb. All chapters direct the acquisition of skills that lead to successful coping. . . This [is a] concise, jargon-proofed, user-friendly volume.
—Journal of the American Medical Association

From the Publisher

A valuable resource for any cancer caregiver involved with home care. . . The mundane, the scary, and the technical are covered with practicality and aplomb. All chapters direct the acquisition of skills that lead to successful coping. . . This [is a] concise, jargon-proofed, user-friendly volume.

Journal of the American Medical Association

2 Stars from Doody

This is a how-to manual for lay people (such as family members) who are caring for a cancer patient at home. It is divided into sections by types of problem, e.g., pain, appetite, etc. Its purpose is to help lay people who are caring for a cancer patient at home by giving them enough specific information that they will better be able to handle common clinical problems as they arise. It is a response to the shift of the majority of cancer care in the U.S. to the outpatient and home settings. It is ostensibly written for the non-health-care professional who is the primary caregiver for a cancer patient at home. The majority of the contributors are nurses. The manual relies on written descriptions, in clearly marked sections, of common clinical problems, their likely causes, and steps the caregiver should take to manage them. There is a paucity of illustrations. It specifically distinguishes clinical observations or patient complaints that should prompt the caregiver to seek professional advice. This spiral-bound manual would be most useful for a cancer patient's family members who are anxious about their task. It is not meant as a library reference book or as a teaching tool for health professionals. The book is designed to be accessed by section as needed, rather than as a text that must be read cover-to-cover. I suspect it will be less useful for those caregivers who lack a good command of the written English language; the vocabulary is large and some concepts presented are complex. Despite its size and scope, it lacks a section summarizing the general goals of the various types of anticancer therapy that necessitate the kind of care that is described.

Charles F. von Gunten