Accepting that you are suffering from cancer is in itself an onerous task, let alone fighting with the fatigue, pain and side effects of the treatment. People might sympathize with you, but no one knows the agony with which you go through every minute of every hour of every day. No one can imagine the torment that your body feels every time you puke or you see your hair coming off or just thinking when you will be better and live a normal and healthy life.
Beyond the physical battle comes the mental vexation. The traffic of thoughts that cross your mind every time you go for your chemotherapy or every time you look at your loved ones and see the worry in their eyes or the grimness that surrounds the home now. This is where cancer palliative care comes in. It provides you relief with physical pain through medicines and therapies, emotional support to the families and nutritional support through a trained dietician.
Dr. Saptarshi provides comprehensive palliative care for cancer patients in Siliguri, with a focus on comfort, symptom management, and quality of life. . He is a trained oncologist with an exceptional academic background and experience. His team provides pain relief from side effects, nutritional support to keep you energized and emotional support to help you and your family cope with distress and anxiety.
Cancer Palliative care refers to the care provided to a cancer patient to relieve painful physical and mental affliction. This care can be given even before the actual cancer treatment starts and not necessarily when the patient is not responding to curative treatments. Palliative care includes physical, mental, spiritual and psychological care. The goal is to achieve the best quality of life, not just for the patient but also for the caregiver. It includes relieving pain through medicines, chemotherapy and providing counselling sessions to both the patient and the caregiver.
Palliative care is more advanced in developed countries than in developing ones. In developed countries, it is integrated into mainstream oncology and national healthcare policies. Such countries have reliable access to medications such as Opioids. They have specialized medical teams and dedicated funding for such care. On the other hand, in developing countries, palliative care is pathetically limited. Paucity of funds, shortage of trained medical professionals and restrictions on pain-relieving medicines like opioids limit the reach of palliative care in developing countries.
Each year, 56.8 million people need palliative care ( WHO ). Cancer Palliative care in Siliguri is useful for any patient of any age suffering from any type of cancer. A person who needs relief from pain, treatment side effects or fatigue may opt for such care. Additionally, the family members and caregivers can also receive palliative care to understand the process of caregiving better. It translates complex medical jargon and reports into simpler versions that the family members can read and make informed decisions. Palliative care also provides counselling to cope with initial shock and anxiety, advanced-stage fear and hopelessness and end-of-life existential crisis and spiritual training.
It should begin at the time of diagnosis and must be continued throughout the entire gamut of treatment. Depending on the patient, it can be started during -
Diagnosis stage
to handle initial breakdown, anxiety and early side effects of treatments.
Beginning of treatment
provided alongside chemotherapy, surgery or immunotherapy to relieve pain and side effects.
Disease escalation
palliative care is advised to start within 8 weeks of metastatic or advanced cancer diagnosis ( ASCO ).
It is advisable to start Palliative care for cancer as early as possible since sometimes psychological and physical symptoms like depression, anxiety, pain and fatigue set in as soon as the patient is diagnosed with cancer.
Early cancer palliative care refers to providing palliative care as soon as cancer is diagnosed. It significantly improves the quality of life of the patient, reduces depression and might increase overall survival when provided alongside standard oncological treatments. A few benefits of early cancer palliative care are -
Siliguri has a considerable number of cancer patients, with patients coming from neighbouring regions like Gangtok as well. This automatically increases the demand for palliative care in Siliguri. However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach in palliative care and therefore, it requires careful consideration of each patient’s history, their age, any comorbidities they may have and the stage of cancer they are at. Hence, personalized cancer supportive care is required to the patient at every stage. Dr. Saptarshi Ghosh develops individualized supportive care plans based on the patient's condition and ongoing cancer treatment.
The key services offered under personalized cancer supportive care in Siliguri are -
This is done through dedicated palliative care teams to reduce pain associated with cancer treatment.
The first method is to use medicines to relieve pain and discomfort on a daily basis. This includes
The second method is to provide various types of therapy such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery to assuage pain in nerves and bones. Other methods may include specialized injections that block pain signals before they reach the brain. Massage and physical therapy is also combined for additional pain relief.
Nutritional support during cancer palliative care prioritizes healthy lean muscle mass, balanced weight and providing high protein, high-calorie foods to manage side effects of radiation and chemotherapy. This is done through -
Cancer patients go through multiple depths of fear, sadness, loneliness and lots of anger and frustration. During such times, the patient, including the family members, requires trained counsellors to provide constant emotional support. This support can be extended in many ways -
Cancer treatment doesn't just kill cancer cells, they kill healthy cells as well. The side effects thus range from hair loss to fatigue and nausea. Their management requires a complex mix of lifestyle adjustments, dietary changes and medical interventions.
anti nausea medications, eating small yet frequent non spicy meals and avoiding pungent food odours.
use of sunscreens, thick moisturizers and mild cleansers to wash the body.
to flush out toxins, process medications and ease nausea and vomiting.
light exercises like 15-30 mins walk at your own pace, frequent and short rest, prioritize only important tasks to conserve energy and track the highest and lowest energy levels of the day for effective management.
Dr. Saptarshi Ghosh is one of the best oncologists in Siliguri. His Palliative care team offers exceptional and highly personalized Cancer Palliative Care in Siliguri. He has a proven track record in cancer treatment along with palliative care.
Dr. Saptarishi Ghosh provides personalized palliative care focused on managing cancer-related pain and symptoms while supporting patients and their families throughout treatment.
expertise in pain relief services during cancer treatment not just physical but mental as well.
Patients get access to well-trained doctors, nurses and social workers.
relief from nausea, pain, fatigue, insomnia and shortness of breath, along with psychological symptom support as well.
Guidance and Counselling to caregivers to help them manage uncertainty and stress.
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