A caregiver can help ensure that a person who is hospitalized receives the best care possible. The caregiver can act as a liaison (communicator) and advocate between the person with cancer and the health care team, and provides much needed support to the patient. Providing care in an unfamiliar setting is challenging, but taking the following steps can help make a short-term or long-term hospital stay more manageable for both the person with cancer and the caregiver.

Be an active part of the health care team. As a caregiver, you are an important part of a health care team that may include several people, such as an oncologist (a doctor who specializes in treating people with cancer), an attending physician (the doctor in charge), a surgeon, and nurses and social worker. Seek opportunities to provide background information about the person’s health and care preferences to team members so they can better evaluate and treat the patient.

Communicate regularly with the attending physician. Introduce yourself to the attending physician, the doctor in charge of coordinating the patient's care throughout his or her hospital stay. Make it clear that you want to be kept informed of important results and decisions. Give the doctor your contact information and make sure that it is included in the patient’s hospital record. Ask the doctor the best way to reach him or her if the need arises. Keep a running list of questions to ask the doctor and find out when he or she makes rounds (regularly scheduled visits to patients) so that you can get your questions answered. It also helps to write down the answers. Finally, ask the doctor to explain something further if you don’t understand what he or she is saying. It is okay to speak up.

Reach out to nurses. Get to know the nurses who are caring for the person with cancer. Nurses are an excellent source of information and support, and can answer your day-to-day questions. They can also provide practical tips for caregiving, help you understand medical procedures and hospital processes, and, in some cases, give you informational and educational materials

Meet with a hospital social worker or case manager. These professionals can help guide caregivers through the hospital stay and help with discharge planning issues (when the patient is released from the hospital), such as follow-up care. Oftentimes, they can provide assistance to caregivers in numerous other ways, including helping with insurance issues, arranging financial support and patient transportation, coordinating care among several doctors, and providing emotional support and information on local caregiving resources.

Get organized. As the caregiver of a person with cancer, you may be responsible for gathering cancer information, making appointments, filling prescriptions, getting test results, learning about treatment options, handling insurance and payment issues, and more. One way to avoid feeling overwhelmed by information you are given in the hospital is to become well organized. Create a system – it can be as simple as a three-ring binder with folders and tabs – that allows you to file information and paperwork you are given. Being able to quickly find information when you need it can save time and reduce frustration. In addition, keep a list of the patient’s medications and allergies handy. Include the names of medications, the purpose, dosage, the number of doses taken daily, and the times at which they are taken. Learn about other ways to organize a patient’s cancer care.

Review and share legal documents. Advance directives are a legally binding set of instructions that explain the kind of medical treatment a person would want and would not want if he or she becomes unable to make the decisions. Advance directives usually include the following documents:

Power of Attorney — A document in which a person names a health care proxy (also called a health care agent), a person who can legally make health care decisions for him or her.

Living Will — A written set of instructions outlining a person’s wishes about types of medical care he or she may or may not want in order to sustain life. It is used in circumstances when a person can no longer verbalize wishes about medical care and in which he or she is terminally ill.

Do Not Resuscitate Order — This document, often called a DNR, instructs medical personnel not to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (known as CPR) – the process of attempting to restart the heart and/or breathing – to a patient. A DNR order must be completed and signed by the patient’s doctor or other health care provider.

Make sure these documents are included in the patient’s record. If the person with cancer does not have these documents, talk to him or her about having them created. It may be possible to complete the necessary forms in the hospital. Read more about advance directives.

More Information

Caring for the Whole Patient

Questions to Ask the Doctor

Caregiving

Additional Resources

National Family Caregivers Association: Improving Doctor/Caregiver Communications

National Family Caregivers Association: When Your Loved One is Hospitalized