TREATMENT NIGHTMARES – ADVANCED CANCER
Since many decades, the treatment for cancer has been very difficult for the patients. The patient is emotionally and physically traumatised and there is a sense of hopelessness among them. In advanced stage of cancer, where the patient has been a witness to the imminent spread of the disease, it is all the more difficult to accept the harsh reality. The patient is mentally shattered and their needs are often overlooked, as is the mental well-being of those around them. There is an urgent need to review this situation and its management. There is an enormous scope to consider alternative approach to avoid this ordeal. Here are some observations regarding advanced cancer patients over last 25 years of experience.
Anxiety
There is a lot of anxiety about their future and fear of the disease progression. It often has a tendency to have an adverse effect on the responses to the treatment given. Some patients in the late stage of cancer have excruciating pain, which is often unbearable. Poly pharmacy – multiple medicines for comorbidities as well as cancer often leads to reactions that is difficult to navigate.Insomnia / sleeplessness is a common issue among majority of cancer patients and the advance stage makes it all the more.
Anorexia
Low food intake and cachexia – severe weight loss and muscle wasting is seen among cancer patients. It defeats the purpose of revival since they do not have enough strength to move in the direction of normalcy. Bed ridden patients are found at this stage of cancer. There is absence of physical activity that affects their mobility.
Bed sores
Sedentary lifestyle becomes more acute, and bed ridden people have the commonest problem at this stage – bed sores. Skin that is under constant touch to the bed surface becomes fragile and tear to open up to cause wounds, that are difficult to heal and often deteriorate.
Other Factors
Bowel movement and bladder activity also become a challenge. Lack of food intake, and sedentary lifestyle under the circumstances, has adverse effects like constipation and urine incontinence. Pain management medicines have strong side effects like severe constipation, dizziness and drowsiness. There is little one can do except to provide symptomatic relief. One of the most important factors to consider under the circumstances is the difficulty to accept imminent death, by the patient as well as the care givers. This makes the future planning very difficult for both.
Rasayu Opines
Rasayu Cancer Clinic shows the way in these challenging circumstances. The quality of life can be addressed, the food intake tends to improve with Rasayu therapy which in turn can improve bowel movement. Food intake increase helps raise the energy levels thereby reducing the overall weakness. The tissue quality can be addressed to help recover from chronic wounds and its tendency to formation of new bed sores.