Care for patients with head and neck cancer after radiation therapy
Food Care
When receiving radiation, there are various side effects for patients, resulting in reduced food intake and weight loss. If weight loss occurs, treatment will be interrupted and ineffective. Therefore, patients should take care of their diet as follows:
1. Eat nutritious food that contains all five food groups, especially protein.
2. Avoid spicy food because it can irritate the tissues in the mouth.
3. If you are unable to eat normally, you will need to eat medical food through a feeding tube in the nose or abdomen to ensure that your body receives complete nutrition and maintains a stable weight.
4. The group of patients who have had a tracheostomy must be careful about infection. The patient and caregiver must emphasize cleanliness, wash their hands frequently, and wear a mask and a neck cover at all times when going outside to prevent germs from outside. Because if the patient is infected, the treatment, radiation, and chemotherapy must be stopped. They must wait until they are completely recovered, which will delay the treatment even more. Therefore, it is best to prevent infection.
Oral health care
1. Rinse your mouth frequently with cooled boiled water or salt water.
2. If you can brush your teeth, choose a soft-bristled toothbrush and a non-irritating toothpaste to avoid irritation in your mouth.
3. Exercise your jaw by opening your mouth wide. You can use a plastic tube of the appropriate size for your mouth to help maintain the width of your mouth. You should do this continuously every morning and evening
Neck and shoulder exercises
1. Shake both hands to relax the muscles a little. Raise your hands and slowly lower them.
2. Raise both hands forward, take a deep breath in, and exhale long. Do this twice. Inhale and slowly exhale.
3. Raise your hands close to your ears. Raise your arms and inhale slowly. Exhale and blow air through your mouth. Exhale and slowly lower your arms. Do 5 times.
4. Inhale, lift your shoulders slowly. Exhale, slowly lower your shoulders. The muscles contract. Inhale, lift up. Exhale, slowly lower your arms. Do 8 times.
5. Slowly rotate your arms forward 8 times and slowly rotate them backward 8 times.
Neck exercises
1. Slowly turn your neck to one side that you are comfortable with. Turn until you feel tight. Count 1-8 and turn your head back. Count 1-8. Breathe normally and repeat on the other side. Do 5 times.
2. Gently tilt your neck to one side until it is tense, count 1-8, then slowly return. Or use your hand to tilt your neck, count 1-8, then slowly support your face back to the front, and repeat on the other side. Do 5 times.
Mental care
Head and neck cancer patients will https://ufabet999.app experience stress and anxiety during treatment, which is the responsibility of the doctors and nurses who will provide advice, encouragement, and medication. However, if it is beyond the capabilities of the doctors, they will refer them to a psychiatrist for further treatment.