Quality of life and nephrology are important topics to us. We partner with nephrologists from all over the USA to treat patients just like you. At Paragon, we know that each of our patients faces a unique set of obstacles related to their condition, symptoms, and therapy. Even though 850 million people are affected by kidney disease worldwide, you are not a number to us. You are part of our family. We see the challenges you face and are here to provide clinical resources to best support you where you’re at on your journey. Our goal is to help you overcome hurdles related to your health, comfort, and happiness in order to improve your overall quality of life.

What is Quality of Life?

"Quality of Life" is defined as the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or group. The CDC states, “Health is more than the absence of disease; it is a resource that allows people to realize their aspirations, satisfy their needs, and to cope with the environment to live a long, productive, and fruitful life.”

Quality of life asks questions like, “Do you perceive that your life is going well?” This question must consider your joy and grief, housing, employment, relationships, and overall sense of well-being. These factors are not easy to measure since well-being is a subjective concept, but these areas are critical to painting a picture of your quality of life.

What types of challenges do kidney disease patients often face?

No two patients are the same, and neither is their experience with kidney disease. When you come on our service to treat your condition, our team considers multiple lifestyle factors when building your customized plan. We partner with your physician and you to ensure you have a care plan tailored to your specific needs.

Many patients with kidney disease have reported the following:

• Feeling discomfort related to symptoms of their condition. Many kidney disease patients may experience pain and discomfort. Each situation is different, but many patients have symptoms such as weight loss and poor appetite, swelling from water retention, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and more. These symptoms can interfere with how a patient feels throughout the day, making it essential to find positive ways to manage symptoms and the condition itself.
• Feelings of isolation or frustration. It’s easy to feel alone or frustrated when dealing with an acute or chronic health condition – but our team here at Paragon is ready to support you every step of the way. You are not alone. We are here to help provide you with clinical resources, education, and more so that you can successfully manage your nephrology condition.
• Feeling discouraged through the process of finding a therapy that works. Learning what works best for a patient may take time. This can be challenging, especially when it would be ideal to have immediate results. Our team will work with each patient and their physician to navigate finding the best regimen for the individual. Through Paragon Infusion Centers, patients have access to antibiotics, crysvita, injectafer, IV fluids, kystexxa, monoferric, rituxan, ruxience, truxima, venofer, and more.

There is hope. Our heart is to see you thrive in life and reach each goal you set for yourself, big or small. There are multiple online resources, community support groups, specialty therapies, and helpful information available. Together with your physician, caregivers, and family, we believe you can live your life to its fullest.

What resources are available to kidney disease patients?

• American Society of Nephrology – “ASN leads the fight to prevent, treat, and cure kidney diseases throughout the world by educating health professionals and scientists, advancing research and innovation, communicating new knowledge, and advocating for the highest quality care for patients.”
• International Society of Nephrology – “The International Society of Nephrology (ISN) is a global professional association dedicated to advancing kidney health worldwide since 1960 through education, grants, research, and advocacy.”
• National Kidney Foundation – “Fueled by passion and urgency, National Kidney Foundation is a lifeline for all people affected by kidney disease. As pioneers of scientific research and innovation, NKF focuses on the whole patient through the lens of kidney health. Relentless in our work, we enhance lives through action, education, and accelerating change.”
• American Kidney Fund – “The American Kidney Fund (AKF) fights kidney disease on all fronts as the nation’s leading kidney nonprofit. AKF works on behalf of the 37 million Americans living with kidney disease and the millions more at risk, with an unmatched scope of programs that support people wherever they are in their fight against kidney disease—from prevention through post-transplant living.”
• American Association of Kidney Patients – “As the oldest and largest, independent kidney patient organization in the U.S. – AAKP is dedicated to improving the lives and long-term outcomes of kidney patients through education, advocacy, patient engagement, and the fostering of patient communities. AAKP fights for early disease detection and the appropriate diagnosis of rare/genetic conditions; increased kidney transplantation and pre-emptive transplantation; full patient choice of either in-center or home dialysis; protection of the patient/physician relationship; promotion of research and innovation including artificial implantable and wearable kidneys; and the elimination of barriers for patient access to available treatment options.”

As the healthcare industry shifts to focusing on nephrology patients’ experience, physicians and providers alike are recognizing that happy and healthy patients are the sum total of a positive physical, mental, and emotional state. Quality of life is a term used to encompass more than just a patient’s physical symptoms from their health condition. Our goal is to empower you to take charge of your health by learning practical ways to manage your condition.

For more information about Paragon Healthcare, visit https://paragonhealthcare.com/.