Mom is in treatment, and the days between appointments are hard

What changes at home during cancer treatment?

Treatment reshapes the week. Chemotherapy often follows a cycle, with predictable hard days afterward; radiation can mean a drive every weekday for weeks. Fatigue, nausea, appetite changes and a higher risk of infection are common reasons the oncology team asks families to have someone around more. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) encourages caregivers to accept help with cooking, cleaning, shopping and rides early, before they are worn out.

Many families we talk to are not asking for medical help. The infusion center and the oncology nurses have that covered. They are asking for someone to make soup, change the sheets, and sit with Mom on Thursday when no one can get off work.

How a caregiver helps day to day

• Around the treatment cycle. We schedule more hours on the days after treatment and fewer on the good days, and adjust when the cycle changes.
• Meals. Small, frequent meals and the foods she can tolerate, following any guidance from the oncology dietitian. See Meal Preparation.
• Clean house, clean hands. The CDC advises people getting chemotherapy and those around them to wash hands often. Caregivers wash hands on arrival and before meals, keep the kitchen and bathroom clean, and do the laundry. See Light Housekeeping.
• Personal care on hard days. Help with showering, dressing and getting to the bathroom when she is weak. See personal care.
• Appointments. A caregiver can accompany her to infusion, radiation and follow-up visits, keep her company in the waiting room, and write down what the doctor said for the family.
• Company. Long afternoons on the couch go better with someone to talk to, watch a game with, or sit quietly beside. Our caregivers listen; they are not counselors, and the oncology social worker can connect you with counseling and support groups.

How do we work with the oncology team?

The oncologist, oncology nurses, nurse navigator, social worker and dietitian direct treatment. If the doctor orders it, a home health agency may send a nurse for skilled care at home. We are a non-medical agency: our caregivers do not administer medications, and ports, lines and wound care stay with the nurses.

Ask the oncology team for their call-right-away list and their after-hours number, and we keep both posted in the home. One item is on almost every list: the CDC advises people getting chemotherapy to call the doctor right away for a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, even at night. Our caregivers remind your mother to take her temperature when she feels warm, chilled or unwell, and call the family and the number on the list when the plan says to. The American Cancer Society's helpline, 1-800-227-2345, answers questions any time of day or night.

What does a typical starting plan look like?

• Treatment day and the two days after: a caregiver for four to six hours each day, including company at the appointment.
• Other days: a shorter visit for meals and laundry, or none if she is feeling well.
• When nights get hard: overnight care for a week or two at a time.

If treatment shifts to comfort care, we can keep working with your family alongside the hospice team. See support alongside hospice.

Where this happens in our 16 counties

Families from Perry, Juniata and Dauphin counties often drive to the Penn State Cancer Institute in Hershey; families in Lancaster County go to the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health. Others are treated close to home in York, Reading, Chambersburg or the Lehigh Valley. A long drive on a treatment day is exactly when a caregiver who comes along saves a family member a day off work. In Fulton, Huntingdon and Juniata counties, recurring shifts tied to a treatment calendar are easier to staff than last-minute single visits, so call us as soon as the schedule is set. Our Lancaster County and Dauphin County pages list the local Area Agency on Aging for each county. Request a consultation to plan around the treatment calendar.