Important Information on Cancer and Wound Healing
One of the great comforts of full-time skilled nursing is that it provides constant, supervised health care for those who have cancer and cancer wounds.
At Brook Stone, we serve many residents facing several health challenges–such as cancer and wound healing— and we understand that each has unique needs that should be met with the highest standard of compassionate, professional care.
You may have many questions surrounding how we help residents with cancer and how cancer affects wound healing. We’ll take a closer look at the answers as well as how skilled nursing helps patients with a variety of health issues.
How Does Cancer Affect Wound Healing?
The Connection Between Cancer and Wound Healing
The chemotherapy and radiation that accompanies cancer treatment slow wound healing. These treatments affect every aspect of the body’s processes for repairing tissues and producing cells. While normal wound healing will generally return after chemotherapy is finished, certain chemotherapies require a prolonged “healing period” to ensure that wounds are healthy.
By comparison, radiation therapy can have long-term impacts on wound healing because it has the potential to cause permanent tissue damage.
The extent of the effect of cancer treatment on wounds depends specifically on the type of chemotherapy and radiation given, the length of treatment, and several other factors. That’s why every detailed health care plan should include instructions regarding cancer and wound healing techniques to help you.
How Are Cancerous Wounds Treated?
There are several principles and best practices our healthcare team uses to help treat our residents who have cancerous wounds.
First and foremost, we follow the care protocol outlined by the patient’s oncologist or other members of their care team regarding cancer and wound healing. We do this to ensure a complete continuum of care to provide seamless, compassionate service.
We concentrate on keeping the wound area clean and as sterile as possible. This means always using fresh dressings, cleaning the wound every day (unless instructed otherwise by the physician), and diligently checking the site to ensure that an infection hasn’t started. Keeping the site infection-free is one of the most important aspects involving cancer and wound healing.
The dressing is regularly changed in accordance with the health care plan, and we also monitor the patient’s vital signs to ensure there’s no sign of fever, which could be indicative of an infection.
Cancer and Wound Healing: Do Wounds Increase Cancer Risk?
This is a topic of research that is ongoing. According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, it’s possible that cancer cells can “hijack” the body’s natural wound-healing pathways to metastasize—this means it can spread to other parts of the body. Metastasis is responsible for an estimated 90 percent of cancer deaths.
How Brook Stone Helps Patients Through Treating Cancer and Wound Healing
It’s difficult when you or someone you love has cancer. The diagnosis is devastating. It’s a challenge to the very core of your being, and it fosters a determination to fight for your recovery.
It’s much easier to do this when you have a team of compassionate healthcare providers available to you 24/7. At Brook Stone, we monitor wounds, provide assistance with tasks of everyday living, and even help you with medication management. All the while, we’re working closely with your physicians to ensure your healthcare treatment plan–particularly when it comes to cancer and wound healing— is followed to the letter.
Brook Stone Provides Skilled Nursing Care in Pollocksville, NC
At Brook Stone, we believe that our residents are like family. That’s why we treat them with the same care as if they were our parents or grandparents. This philosophy of caring is at the center of our healthcare team.
When someone you love has cancer, we can provide the supervision they need, allowing you to step out of your role as caregiver and back to being their son, daughter, or spouse.
Interested in learning more? It’s time to take the next step. Take a tour and see why our residents love living at Brook Stone. But hurry, our spaces fill quickly.