Caregiving After Treatment

More than any other cancer, brain tumors can have lasting and life-altering physical, cognitive, and psychological impacts on a patient’s life. It also has a life-long effect on the caregiver’s life as well. You may find your journey as a caregiver transitions from scheduling appointments and managing medication to returning to a new normal of life as your loved one moves to periodic scans to managing end-of-life decisions. Even when treatment ends, caregiving never does. 

Managing & Tracking Side Effects

Your loved one could continue to have side effects from their brain tumor or the treatment they received. These side effects could be managed by medication or therapy. Any new or worsening side effects should be told to the patient’s doctor.

Watch & Wait

After surgery and treatment, patients and caregivers will become more familiar with the term watch and wait. Brain tumor patients will continue to have frequent MRI scans to monitor any remaining tumor or recurrence. Your loved one’s medical team will determine the frequency of these scans.

Palliative Care

Palliative care is a specialized care model, focusing on the quality of life and addressing those needs and more. Palliative care options are available to patients as they receive treatment for their brain tumor or after treatment is completed.

Hospice Care

The unfortunate reality of a brain tumor diagnosis is there are limited treatment options available and a disappointing survival rate. Hospice care is designed to make patients as comfortable as possible when end of life is near. It is important to discuss and decide which type of hospice care would be best for your loved one. Options include;

Scheduling Therapy Appointments

With the lasting effects of treatment, your loved one may need or choose to have one or multiple kinds of therapy. Depending on your loved one’s condition, therapy options include; speech, physical, music, occupational, and psychological. Your medical team can help you find the right care.

Difficult Conversations

Difficult conversations continue after treatment ends as you try to return to normal while continuing to prepare for the future. Including your loved one in these conversations is important to keeping them a part of the process as they recover.