Cancer is now becoming one of the leading causes of death in most of the countries in the world and overall number of cancer patients has been increasing rapidly. Many cancer patient may need to put on mechanical ventilator to ease the breathing process and increase the survival time. This mostly happens at the last stages of cancer. Usually long term ventilator care is needed in cancer patients and it is very important that patient is admitted in a relaxed and homelike facility like Better Options Ventilator Care.
In the following lines, I will discuss some common reasons why a Cancer patient should be put on ventilator.
ICU Cancer Patients Need Ventilator Care
Cancer patients who are in ICU at the last stages of cancer usually need mechanical ventilation while other treatment methods are being done. It has been studied that about 42%-83% of cancer patients who are admitted in ICU require mechanical ventilator.
Cancer Patients With Respiratory Failure Need Mechanical Ventilator
Due to cancer and the treatments that are done to manage cancer (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, heavy medications etc) there are chances of respiratory failure in some of the patients. In such condition , it is very important to provide proper ventilator care to cancer patient along with other treatments.
Cancer Patients With Solid Tumors
It has been studied that cancer patients with solid tumors have 1% chance of being diagnosed with acute respiratory failure and would need mechanical ventilation for proper breathing.
How Many Blood Cancer Patients Need Ventilator Care
In patients of blood cancer there are about 9% chances of happening of acute respiratory failure thus requiring mechanical ventilation.
Risks Associated With Cancer Patients On Ventilator For A Longer Period of Time
While on ventilator, cancer patient needs to stay on bed or wheelchair which increases risks of developing some other conditions like:
Development of Blood Clots
Development of blood clots that may partially or fully block blood supply to different organs of body. If blockage occurs in vital organs (heart, brain, liver, lungs), it may be fatal.
Bedsores and Skin Infections
In ventilator dependent cancer patients, development of bedsores is very common which are very serious skin wounds and can be very painful. To avoid such condition, proper care of patient is needed like using special beds with ventilation, regular checkup of patient, changing sides of patient after every 2 hours etc.
Pulmonary Edema
Pulmonary edema is another very common and serious complication caused by long term use of ventilator. In this condition, air sacs (alveoli) that are present inside lungs are filled up with fluid. As a result there is too much fluid inside the lungs of patient, and breathing becomes very difficult. In such cases it is important to quickly drain the extra fluid to ease breathing and save the life of cancer patient.
Do You Need Long Term Care of Your Ventilator Dependent Patients?
Better Options provide a homelike setting for your ventilator dependent patients with nursing and medical staff serving 24/7. We are located in Vancouver, WA, USA. For more information Call Us on (+01) (360) 607-8028) or send an email.
