Preparing Your Home for Pancreatic Cancer Care
A practical guide to getting a home ready for pancreatic cancer care — what to organize before coming home, simple room-by-room changes, equipment questions for the care team, and a checklist to work through together.
Preparing for care at home does not have to mean changing everything at once. Start with the person’s needs, the advice of their care team, and a few practical arrangements that make everyday life easier.
This guide can help you plan for returning home after hospital, getting through treatment, or adjusting to changing care needs. Not everyone will need special equipment or home adaptations.
Before buying equipment or making major changes, ask the hospital or community care team whether an occupational therapy or home-care assessment would help.
Start here
1. Ask what help will be needed at home and who will arrange it.
2. Get written instructions for medications, follow-up care, and any care tasks.
3. Save the care team’s contact details, including whom to contact outside regular hours.
4. Confirm whether equipment or a home assessment is needed.
5. Arrange practical help with meals, transport, household tasks, and breaks for caregivers.
On this page: Before coming home · Room-by-room preparation · Equipment you may need · Working with home care · Checklist
Before coming home
Most arrangements are set in motion before discharge. These are the things to leave hospital knowing:
- Who is coordinating the care plan, and their phone number.
- Written instructions for medications, follow-up appointments, and any care tasks you will do at home.
- Whom to contact outside regular hours if something changes or you are worried.
- Whether an occupational therapy or home-care assessment has been arranged—and what equipment, if any, will be delivered, and when.
- Which home-care visits are confirmed, and when the first one will happen.
Room-by-room preparation
Make changes together, guided by what the person receiving care prefers and what their care team advises. Start with simple changes. Larger adaptations should follow an individual assessment—widening a doorway is not a normal prerequisite for care at home.
Walking routes and entrances
Clear clutter and loose rugs from the routes used most, and leave enough room for any prescribed mobility aid. If steps or access are a problem, raise it with the care team rather than tackling building work yourselves.
Bedroom or resting area
Ask where the person would prefer to rest. Keep frequently used items within easy reach, and leave clear access around the bed in case assistance is needed.
Bathroom
Think through bathing and using the toilet: what is difficult now, and what might become difficult? Ask whether assessed equipment or adaptations would help before buying anything.
Kitchen and everyday tasks
Move frequently used items within easy reach. Arrange help with meals and shopping, and keep a suitable place to sit while preparing food or doing everyday tasks.
Equipment you may need
Some people need little or no additional equipment. Others may benefit from aids for walking, bathing, using the toilet, or resting comfortably. Ask the care team what is appropriate, how to obtain it, and who will explain its safe use.
| Everyday difficulty | What to ask the care team |
|---|---|
| Walking or getting around | Would a mobility assessment or walking aid help? |
| Bathing or using the toilet | Would a shower seat, toilet aid, or professionally recommended grab rail help? |
| Getting in or out of bed | Do we need an assessment of the bed, room layout, or transfer assistance? |
| Spending extended periods in bed | Is a specialist bed or pressure-relieving surface needed? |
An illustrated reference
Our home care equipment gallery shows common items—such as an over-toilet frame with a raised seat, and grab bars and rails—with a short explanation of each. Treat it as a reference for conversations with the care team, not a shopping list: fitting, installation, and hands-on instruction matter, and a web guide cannot replace being shown how to use equipment safely.
Questions to ask in Canada
- Can this be borrowed or rented instead of bought?
- Is any funding available toward it?
- Who arranges delivery, fitting, and return?
Working with home care
Home-care professionals work in your home and around your routines. Clear arrangements at the start prevent most problems. Before care begins, ask:
- Who is coordinating the care plan?
- Which services have actually been arranged?
- Who will visit, and when?
- What tasks will family members be expected to do?
- What instruction will be provided?
- Who should we contact if needs change or a visit is missed?
- What should we do outside regular service hours?
Part of our family’s experience was end-of-life care at home.
When I look back, I wish I had been more prepared for what was ahead. My family and I had to figure things out as we went, which added to an already challenging experience.
In my family’s case, we had some preparation for the transition to home care. My mom, Heather, was a nurse, so she understood exactly what home care workers do. As her care needs increased, my sister and father received training when my mom’s port was placed, as she began receiving all her medications through it. This hands-on involvement allowed them to be more connected to her care and feel better prepared for what was to come. My sister administered my mom’s medications, and my dad cared for her right up until the final hours before her passing.
This experience brought them closer to my mom, giving them a way to take care of her in an active and meaningful way. While not everyone will have the same opportunity, leaning into the expertise of home care professionals and finding ways to stay involved in caregiving can create a sense of teamwork and connection during an otherwise difficult time.
When we were caregiving, we all took breaks—even if it was just for a couple of hours to reconnect with a friend, watch something funny, or grab a meal. You can’t be “on” 100% of the time.
You do not have to manage everything alone
Be specific when asking for help: a grocery run, an appointment drive, a prepared meal, or someone staying while you take a break. Tell the care team if the arrangements at home are becoming difficult to manage.
Your needs matter too. Needing support is not a failure.
More support: Mental and emotional support · Caregivers Hub · Project Purple’s ten tips for pancreatic cancer caregivers
Getting ready for care at home: a checklist
Print this page, or copy these headings into a notebook, and fill them in as arrangements are confirmed.
- ☐ Care coordinator’s name and contact details
- ☐ After-hours contact instructions
- ☐ Follow-up appointments
- ☐ Medication instructions received
- ☐ Equipment assessment and delivery arrangements
- ☐ Home-care visits confirmed
- ☐ Meals, transport, and household help arranged
- ☐ Questions still to ask
Looking for home care in your province?
Home care is organized by each province and territory, so what is provided, who delivers it, and what it costs can look different depending on where you live. Your province's guide walks through the local programs and who to contact.
Find your province or territory →
Related resources
Sources consulted for this guide: Macmillan Cancer Support — Equipment and home adaptations; Support at home after leaving hospital; Getting organised before cancer treatment; Going home from hospital. Cancer Care Ontario — Tools for the Journey. Canadian Cancer Society — Being a Caregiver to Someone with Cancer.
Written by Christopher Cutler, The Heather Cutler Foundation. Last updated October 26, 2026. Something wrong or out of date? See our corrections page or our editorial standards.