Through a home care agency, you can receive many of the same health care and support services available in a hospital. Depending on the complexity of your needs, you may receive a single type of care or a combination of services. A physician will work with your health care providers to determine your plan of care, including which services you need, which specialists are best suited to provide those services, and how often they should be provided.

Nursing care: A highly skilled registered nurse can be immensely helpful to a cancer patient at home, and can help relieve the burden on family members. With home care a nurse comes into the home, assesses the care needs of the patient and family and develops a plan of care in consultation with the physician. Specific services include dressing surgical wounds and ostomy care; providing intravenous therapy; administering and supervising medications; monitoring side effects; providing supportive care such as adequate pain control; and offering health counseling and psychological support.

Physical therapy: Through a physical therapist, a patient can receive a plan of rehabilitation to regain the use of impaired muscles, increase range-of-motion in joints, and help in performing activities of daily living.

Occupational therapy: An occupational therapist can help patients who have physical, developmental, social, or emotional problems that prevent them from performing the general activities of daily living. An occupational therapist will assess the patient’s abilities, then provide instruction on using special techniques and equipment to improve function in tasks such as eating, bathing, dressing and household routines. With the therapist’s help, the patient can do more things without help--therefore gaining greater independence.

Speech therapy: When the ability to communicate has become impaired, a speech pathologist can help the patient regain that ability through instruction and exercise.

Medical social worker: Social workers evaluate the social and emotional factors affecting individuals with illness and provide counseling. They serve as case managers for patients with complex needs and coordinate available community resources.

Home health aides/Home care aides: With the help of an aide, a patient can better handle personal care- such as getting in and out of bed, walking, bathing, and dressing. Some aides have received special training and are qualified to provide more complex services under the supervision of a nurse.

Homemaker/attendant care: A homemaker can provide light household tasks such as laundry, preparing meals, housekeeping, and shopping. These services are directed at maintaining the patient’s house rather than providing care.

Volunteers: A volunteer from organizations in the community or through a home care agency or hospice can be valuable in providing companionship, emotional support, as well as help with personal care, paperwork, and transportation.

Other home care services may include: nutritional support and dietary services; durable medical equipment; laboratory and x-ray studies; pharmacy services; respiratory therapy; medical supplies, such as catheters and dressings; transportation; emergency alert system; Meals-on-Wheels (home-delivered meals); telephone reassurance; and an electronic safety monitoring system. Dentists, clergy, physicians, ophthalmologists, and other health professionals can provide services in the home setting.