Navigating a cancer diagnosis is not a solo effort. Besides the patient, family and caregivers participate in meeting the many challenges of medical treatments, recovery, rehabilitation, and more. A quality cancer center will have a team of experienced and highly-trained cancer specialists who can show you and your family members different ways to support each other in your cancer journey.
Let us discuss more on this topic and talk about where you can go for comprehensive cancer care in Sarasota, FL.
Life Beyond Surgery, Radiation, Chemo,and Other Therapies
While cancer definitely is the foe to be defeated, the changes your body and your life undergo when dealing with this important diagnosis are many and demanding. They impact you, your family, and your caregivers.
As such, we highly recommend an integrative approach to cancer care–that is, we strive to deliver the education and support patients and their caregivers need on a day-to-day basis. We help maximize the therapeutic benefits of treatment and strengthen the beneficial bonds of family and other supports.
The Goals Are Remission, Wellness, and Independence
Remission is primarily the job of you and your oncologist. Your oncologist heads your cancer diagnosis and treatment team, employing the latest assessments and therapies for a wide range of malignancies. An oncologist can treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, solid tumors, leukemia, and other cancers.
The desired outcome is remission and prevention of relapse through stem cell or immunotherapies, chemotherapy, radiation, and other targeted therapies. Additionally, they help patients and their families deal with the sometimes-substantial side effects of treatment,including:
- Hair loss
- Poor appetite
- Sleep disorders
- Sexual dysfunction
- Fatigue
- Nausea and vomiting
- Burns
- Neuropathy and other kinds of pain
- Headaches
- Mood disorders
Accordingly, the physicians and their support staff refer to local support services which help people have the best quality of life possible during and after their cancer treatments.
Support for Wellness and Independence
Besides medical treatment, caregivers should look into the many resources available through the American Cancer Society. Both education and support groups help those living with and caring for individuals with cancer:
- Take care of themselves through spiritual counseling and psychiatric care (such as cognitive behavior therapy)
- Understand the very real impacts cancer treatments have on patients’ emotions, physicality, and mental health
- Learn communication skills for dealing with the many providers and agencies involved in cancer care
- Understand physical care, including side effects, ambulation, medications, pain management and more
- Respite care so caregivers get breaks to rest, recharge, run errands, and more
- Learn how rehabilitation can improve strength, endurance, and overall quality of life and wellness
- Decrease day-to-day stress and anxiety
- Nutritional counseling to improve upon the deficits patients can experience going into or during cancer treatment
Your Cancer Center in Sarasota, FL
To ensure you get the high-quality care you deserve, visit the multidisciplinary cancer care team at Intercoastal Medical Group. The highly qualified hematology and oncology specialists at our cancer center offer a comprehensive range of diagnostic and medical services and specialties, including both outpatient and inpatient consultations and examinations, to ensure you get the care you deserve.
To learn more about our services or to schedule a consultation with one of our cancer specialists, call Intercoastal Medical Group today at (941) 200-1125 or fill out our online appointment request form.
