August 1st is World Lung Cancer Day. As a family caregiver, this is the ideal opportunity for you to learn more about lung cancer, how it can impact your aging parents, and how you can be the best family caregiver possible for a senior living it with this disease.
By educating yourself about the disease, you can better understand your parents’ individual risk factors, identify symptoms or challenges, and be there for your parents providing the support and encouragement they will need to cope with the disease during their later years.
Some things you should know about a lung cancer include:
-Not counting skin cancer, lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer in both men and women, following prostate and breast cancer respectively.
-This includes both the small-cell and non-small cell forms of the disease.
-Approximately 14% of all new cases of cancer that are diagnosed throughout the United States are lung cancer.
-More than 234,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in men and women throughout the United States each year.
-There are more than 150,400 deaths from lung cancer in the United States each year.
-The vast majority of cancer deaths in both men and women are caused by lung cancer.
-More people die from lung cancer each year than breast, prostate, and colon cancer combined.
-The majority of people who are diagnosed with lung cancer are older. Being over the age of 65 is a risk factor for lung cancer, and the risk for developing cancer increases with age.
-The average age of diagnosis with lung cancer is 70.
-Men have a 1 in 15 chance of developing lung cancer throughout their lifetime.
-Women have a 1 in 17 chance of developing lung cancer throughout their lifetime.
-Smokers are at a much higher risk of developing lung cancer than non-smokers.
-Black men have approximately a 20% higher chance of developing lung cancer than white men, but black women are less likely to develop lung cancer than white women.
-It is possible for those diagnosed in the earliest stages of lung cancer to be cured.
What can you do to help?
Hearing your aging parent is living with lung cancer can be one of the most difficult moments in your experience as their family caregiver. Now is the time for you to start making important decisions regarding their future care, and their journey with the disease. This is a perfect opportunity for you to consider starting senior care for them.
Having a senior home care services provider as a part of your care routine with your elderly parent means they will continue to have access to the personalized care, support, and assistance they need to manage their needs now and into the future. With personalized care that can range from transportation to appointments to meal preparation to help with tasks around the house, to basic companionship and support, the care provider can help your senior to manage their cancer in the way that is right for them, while also pursuing their highest quality of life as they age in place.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering Senior Care in San Francisco, CA, call the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care. Call today: (415) 795-2203
Source:
Cancer.org
Healthline.com
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