Hospital Helpers

Being in the hospital can be stressful. Here are some tips to get you through your hospital stay.

Trouble sleeping is a common issue for people with cancer and it can be even worse if you are in the hospital. When you are in the hospital, you are also dealing with an irregular sleep schedule, being woken up at night, and spending more time in bed during the day than you normally might.

Oncology patients may need the care of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and this unfamiliar environment can cause a great deal of stress for the oncology patient and/or family.

Standard Precautions are the basic steps used to stop the spread of pathogens (organisms that can cause disease).

More than one out of four older people fall each year, but there are ways to decrease your risk of falling.

Practicing proper hand hygiene is one of the most important practices to prevent infections.

A lumbar puncture (LP), also known as a spinal tap, is a procedure used to access the cerebrospinal space to either obtain spinal fluid for testing or to infuse medication.

An ommaya reservoir is a surgically implanted device that provides direct access to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

A thoracentesis is a procedure that removes fluid from the pleural space.

If the fluid in your pleural space keeps coming back (recurrent pleural effusion), your healthcare provider may want to place an indwelling pleural catheter, often called a PleurX™.

A Jackson-Pratt (JP) surgical drain is sometimes placed after surgery. It is used to drain bodily fluids that might collect under or near the incision (where the surgeon cut your skin).

A biliary drain may be needed if your bile does not flow as it should (called cholestasis). A biliary drain may be placed to allow the bile to flow freely and drain from your body.