Vancouver Home Health Care Agency

Cancer

Making a Difference for Those Living with Cancer

The Vancouver Home Health Care Agency unites compassionate care and unwavering dedication to enhance your health, happiness, and independence. Contact us today for more information! (503) 354-1970 Image via Pexels Making a Difference for Those Living with Cancer Mayo Clinic notes that, for most people, a cancer diagnosis can be scary and overwhelming. It can leave people who love someone with this diagnosis feeling both helpless and uncertain. The good news is that if you care about someone who has cancer, there are many ways you can help. After offering your initial support, being there for the person you love, and educating yourself, you can make a difference on a larger scale, too. Today, the Vancouver Home Health Care Agency shows you how. Starting a Nonprofit Corporation for Cancer Starting a nonprofit corporation for cancer doesn’t need to be complicated. While you could help by volunteering your time, participating in clinical trials, or offering alternative treatments such as music therapy, anyone who is business-minded might enjoy the chance to start a company aimed at helping cancer patients.  The reality is that it’s easier to apply for grants and public funding if you’re set up as a nonprofit corporation. After setting up bylaws that detail how you’ll operate, who will be on your board, and how voting works, you’ll be able to come up with a mission statement that makes a big difference in the lives of people with cancer. Praying for Someone with Cancer Praying for someone with cancer offers a multitude of benefits, both for the person offering the prayers and the individual facing the illness. First and foremost, it provides emotional and spiritual support during a challenging and often overwhelming time.  The National Shrine of St. Jude points out that prayer can offer comfort, hope, and a sense of connection to something greater than oneself, which can alleviate anxiety and stress. It also fosters a sense of solidarity and empathy, strengthening the bond between the person offering the prayers and the cancer patient.  For the person facing cancer, knowing that others are praying for them can provide a sense of encouragement and reassurance. While prayer is not a substitute for medical treatment, the psychological and emotional benefits it offers can complement conventional healthcare, contributing to a holistic approach to healing and well-being. Getting Tools to Help, Including a Nursing Degree To make your nonprofit successful and easier to run, you’ll want to invest in the best software out there. The right accounting solution will make it easier to track donations, tax information, invoicing, and expenses. It will also mean easy, custom reports for grant applications. When searching for tools for your new cancer nonprofit, look into marketing platforms and newsletter hosts that can make getting the word out about your company’s mission easier. Also, if you want to lend a helping hand to the medical community, the best way to do so is by getting involved in nursing! While that’s a big step, it’s also one of the biggest ways to make a difference. And these days, there are online programs that allow you to learn at your own pace, meaning you won’t have to take time away from your nonprofit while you study. Take time to look at available options that can open the door to positions like Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, and see whether this is a good fit. Hiring Professionals and Self-Care Whether you decide to open a nonprofit aimed at raising money for research or advocacy work, it’s important to remember why you’re passionate about helping cancer patients in the first place. Take care of yourself and the person you love with cancer by getting the mental health healthcare you need.  Also, when choosing between therapists, consider hiring an online therapist who can work with you and the person you love from the privacy of home. Even when treatments are going well, it’s stressful to work through a cancer diagnosis without help. Enlisting an online therapist means easier access and the ability to choose from a larger pool of licensed professionals. A good therapist will be able to refer you to someone else if they don’t believe they’re the right match for you or the cancer patient you care about. Getting Started It all starts with compassion. If you want to make a difference in the life of someone struggling with a cancer diagnosis, there are many ways – great and small – that you can help, including going back to school to earn a degree in nursing. “At Vancouver Home Health Care Agency, our commitment is rooted in caring and compassion, ensuring that your well-being remains at the heart of what we do”

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What Is Drug Addiction in Relation to the Brain?

What Is Drug Addiction in Relation to the Brain? Drug addiction is a full-body issue; every body system is affected and changes in response to the drug use or abuse. However, the brain has a special relationship to drug use, because much of the brain’s chemistry is affected by drugs. While different drugs will change the brain in different ways, there is a very specific science to the changes which occur in the brain with drug use. A Brain Overview The brain is the most complex, and least understood, system in the body. It weighs approximately three pounds and is a mass of gray-ish matter. It is the epicenter of every human movement, decision, and activity. The brain regulates every part of a person’s life, from emotions, to movement, to the ability to breathe and circulate blood. There are many parts that work together to create nature’s most perfect working machine. Each part has an assignment, however, without one part, the other parts simply won’t work. When a drug alters a part of the brain, that part malfunctions, and, as with any machine, the rest of the brain stops working correctly.  Certain drugs will target specific brain areas, however, general areas affected include the brain stem, the cortex, and the limbic system. The Brain Stem This part of the brain controls sleeping, heart rate and breathing. It is located at the bottom of the brain, toward the back of the neck. It connects to the spine, and often helps send signals from the brain to the rest of the body. The Cortex The cerebral cortex, which includes much of the top of the brain, includes a number of different sections and handles a number of different functions. The senses are located here, as is our reasoning and our ability to think. The Limbic System This section is toward the center of the brain, and it includes the pleasure center. Our sense of pride from receiving awards is here, as is our pleasure from eating or socializing. This part of our brain sends pleasure signals which keep us alive. Unfortunately, drug abuse also targets this area, and drugs will replace what some people are missing in life to bring them pleasure. The brain is a complex structure, and it is very fragile. It can be altered by most drugs on the legal, and illegal, market. If you’d like to talk about drugs and effects on the brain, call Vancouver Home Health Care Agency today. At Vancouver Home Health Care Agency, Caring and Compassion is our business.

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Medical Consequences of Substance Abuse

Medical Consequences of Substance Abuse The United States government, on their website for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drugabuse.gov, defines substance abuse and drug addiction as a disease of the brain. Admittedly, initial drug use may be voluntary, however, this agency states that the most commonly abused drugs change a person’s chemistry. The addiction happens because brain circuitry and gene expression are changed. The person changes their internal operations, which makes withdrawal difficult, and a need for the drug imminent. People need the drug to maintain the changes caused by the drug. The medical consequences of drug addiction and substance abuse are far reaching in both time and body systems. No body system is missed in the effects of drugs, and a person will feel the effects of the drug for a long time, even after detoxification. Sadly, some drugs can cause issues such as heart attacks after only one use, so that initial choice to use a drug could harm or kill an individual. Following is a list of systems affected and possible diseases, but the list is not all-inclusive. Visit drugabuse.gov for more information and for specific information on how each system is affected. HIV and Hepatitis Cardiovascular Respiratory Gastrointestinal Musculoskeletal Kidneys Liver Neurological Mental Illnesses Hormones Cancer Prenatal Issues Death If you’d like to talk more about drugabuse.gov or any issues associated with substance abuse, call Vancouver Home Health Care Agency today. At Vancouver Home Health Care Agency, Caring and Compassion is our business.

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Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. Understanding prostate cancer means understanding the prostate, which is an organ found only in men. The organ rests behind the urinary bladder and in front of the rectum. It grows with age, with the most rapid growth happening during puberty. Growth into adulthood slows down to nearly none at all, but it still grows at a very slow rate. The prostate creates fluid for sperm, to make the sperm more fluid as it passes into the vagina. An Overview of Prostate Cancer There are a number of cells in the prostate, however, nearly all prostate cancers stem from gland cells, or the cells which create the fluid added to semen. Medically, this type of cancer is termed, is adenocarcinoma. Other cancers which begin in the prostate are: Small cell carcinomas Sarcomas Neuroendocrine tumors Transitional cell carcinomas The list of cancers above are extremely rare; if a man has prostate cancer, it is usually adenocarcinoma. Some will spread and grow rapidly, but most are slow moving cancers. This is why prostate cancer is so common, and so dangerous. Many men never know they have an issue because there are very few, if any, symptoms. A Few Pre-Cancerous Conditions in the Prostate There is research suggesting that cancers in the prostate begin as pre-cancerous conditions. PIN, or Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia This condition brings changes in the way prostate gland cells appear under a microscope. The abnormal cells, however, do not appear to be growing into other areas, so they don’t appear to act like cancer cells. They are categorized into two different types, according to how they look. Low-grade PIN: Prostate cell patterns appear nearly normal High-grade PIN: Patterns of cells appear more abnormal than usual PIN can appear in some men as young as 20. Nearly half of every man has some form of PIN by 50. Many men will develop the low-grade version early but will not necessarily have prostate cancer later. Researchers are still searching for the link between low-grade PIN and prostate cancer. Follow-up care for low-grade PIN means treating the prostate as if there are no abnormalities. When high-grade PIN is discovered, doctors assume there is possible cancer on other areas of the prostate. In fact, there is a scientific chance of 20% that cancer exists. Doctors will monitor high-grade PIN closely, often following up with more biopsies. PIA, or Proliferative Inflammatory Atrophy PIA is a second possible find on a biopsy. The cells appear smaller than normal, with inflammation signs around the area. PIA is not categorized as cancer, but research shows that PIA may lead to cancer or high-grade PIN. Vancouver Home Health Care Agency has many resources devoted to prostate cancer. At Vancouver Home Health Care Agency, Caring and Compassion is our business.

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