Home Care

Ernest H. Rosenbaum, MD, Malin Dollinger, MD, Isadora Rosenbaum, MA, 
Pamela Lemkin, RN, BSN, and Stephen Lemkin, MD 
Adapted for the Canadian edition by Karen Williamson, MSW 

Most people feel much more comfortable in the warm, familiar surroundings of home than they do
in a hospital or convalescent home. Medical facili-
ties naturally seem strange. They are antiseptic, regulated and sometimes forbidding. Yet many
cancer patients prolong their hospital stay.
Why?  Because they—or their families— are
afraid they won't get proper treatment at home
or be able to cope with home care problems.
    These fears are understandable, but they can be overcome. Medical and non-medical crises can be