Senior Care in Linden NJ

Whether you are 20 or 60, the chances of developing some diseases increase if a family member has also been diagnosed with the condition. Prostate cancer, type 1 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis are just a few medical conditions that you could be diagnosed with later in life if it runs in the family. If you have an elderly loved one who is getting in-home care because of an illness, you may want to consider learning more about your family health history, which the U.S.. Surgeon General’s office and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services highly recommends. The Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative was launched in order to encourage all American families to learn more about their family health history for their own health. These tips will help you open up the discussion with other family members to find out what you may be at risk for.

1. Come up with a list of relatives. Create a list of relatives who may be able to give you a more detailed idea of what the history of your family’s health looks like. Include grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, and your spouse on this list.
2. Have questions prepared. Once your list of relatives has been made, it is time to plan out the questions you will ask. For example, you could ask what health conditions relatives have had, what age they were diagnosed, and what the cause was of a relative’s death. Knowing lifestyle choices they made will also give you an idea on what could have caused their health problems, such as alcoholism or tobacco use.
3. Be respectful. Sharing one’s complete health history can be a sensitive subject and the only way to get them to open up to you is by being compassionate towards them and respectful of the information they are giving you. If they seem hesitant to talk about it, explain that you need the information to find out more about your family medical history. It may help to speak with each relative one-on-one instead of in a group setting and to reassure them that the information they tell you will be confidential.
4. Pick the right time. National Family History Day was declared by the Surgeon General on Thanksgiving. Family gatherings could be a great time to get the ball rolling and begin talking about it while all family members are under one roof.
5. Find the right tools. In order to create a family health history chart, you may want to research various online tools that can help you put all of this information together in an easy-to-read format. Most of these tools are free and will help you collect and organize the information.

If your loved one is receiving elder care for one of the following medical conditions, the chances are much greater that you will develop it down the road:

• Type 1 diabetes
• Osteoporosis
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• Prostate cancer
• Colon cancer
• Blood disorders
• Cystic fibrosis
• Skin cancers

Being prepared with a detailed family health history report will help prepare you for whatever the future holds.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring senior care services near Linden, NJ, call the caring staff at Helping Hands Home Care today at (908-418-4299).

Providing Home Care Services in all of Northern and Central NJ, including Clark, Westfield, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Rahway, Linden, Summit, Edison, Elizabeth, Mountainside and the surrounding areas.

Source
Living Healthy: CICV Benefits Consortium. “Discover Your Family Medical History.”

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Robert D'Arienzo

Owner at Helping Hands Home Care

Robert D’Arienzo
After graduating from Seton Hall University with a BS in finance Helping Hands Homecare’s Owner / President, Robert D’Arienzo, went to work on Wall St. for six years. However, after Robert’s grandmother became ill with stomach cancer Robert and his family needed to find assistance in the home for her. After many trials and tribulations Robert could see that there was a great need for quality home care services here in NJ and loved the idea of being able to assist other families who were going through what his family went through with his beloved grandmother.

Thus, Robert had found his passion. After almost a year of preparation Robert opened Helping Hands Homecare in 2003. Robert wanted Helping Hands Homecare to focus on providing the highest quality of caregivers, exceptional customer service, and providing a service that familys could depend on in their time of need. Since then Helping Hands has assisted hundreds of individuals with the simplest of needs to more complex cases while preserving those standards set out many years ago.
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