Problems faced by relatives caring for cancer patients at home

Abstract

The care of patients suffering from advanced cancer is not limited in the hospital setting. It continues at home where the burden of care is borne by specific individuals. The aim of the present study was to survey and record the various problems faced by those who care for cancer patients at home. The study was conducted in our hospital during the summer of 2007. All participants completed, during a personal interview, a questionnaire which covered pathologic, social, psychological, spiritual/religious and financial problems. Seventy-six carers returned fully completed questionnaires. The most frequent problems reported were: anxiety regarding the patient's future (61.8%), troublesome symptoms such as pain (54%), increased economic burden-financial difficulty (51.3%), problems with patient's feeding (50%), unhappiness or depression (48,7%), emotional upset (47.4%), worsening of the patient's behaviour and personality (38.2%), difficulty of establishing a positive attitude regarding their current status (34.2%), transport to hospital (32.9%), assistance from the wider family circle (25%). Taking care of cancer patients at home creates several problems among carers. Many of them remain undetected. The acknowledgement and recognition of these problems by health-care professionals might contribute to finding solutions in order to assist the difficult task of these individuals.

Explaining the Experiences and Consequences of Care Among Family Caregivers of Patients with Cancer in the Terminal Phase: A Qualitative Research

“…Some categories of this concept, that is, patient-related stress, concern about future, stress, depression and grief, financial and physical problems, family challenges, sleep-related changes, psychological functional problems, loneliness and caregiving pressure are consistent with some research (4,7,8,(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). However, two sub-categories, namely, annoying and dysfunctional beliefs and resentment from the relatives are not seen in prior research.…”

Experiences of Family Caregivers of Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

“…Similarly, several previous studies determined that social aspects of caregivers' lives were adversely affected (National Profile of Family Caregivers in Canada, 2002;Tsigaroppoulos et al, 2009;Terakye, 2011;Shih et al, 2013;Stajduhar, 2013). Terakye (2011) stressed that caregivers' disrupted daily lives and unlikelihood of returning to work and social life played an important part in their developing emotional distress.…”

“…Lethborg et al's study (2003) revealed that patients' relatives suffered from despair or fear of losing a loved one. Several other studies determined that caregivers developed physical problems such as changes in appetite, headaches, chronic fatigue, muscle pain, difficulty in concentration, and emotional symptoms such as insomnia, restlessness, depression or anxiety (Deeken et al, 2003, Dew et al, 2004Gopalan and Brannon, 2006;Tsigaroppoulos et al, 2009). The results determined in this present study were similar to those of other studies in the literature: providing care to cancer patients led to physiological, psychological and social problems in caregivers.…”

“…In their study conducted to assess family caregivers' stress arising from their caregiver roles, Gopalan and Brannon (2006) determined that caregivers had not only physical problems such as hypertension and impaired immune system but also mental health problems such as depression or anxiety. Caregivers, due to their caregiver roles, also develop physical problems such as indigestion, changes in appetite, irregular eating habits, headaches, chronic fatigue, weight gain or loss, muscle pain, difficulty in concentration, and emotional symptoms such as restlessness, insomnia, decreased self-esteem and social isolation (Deeken et al, 2003;Dewar et al, 2004;Tsigaroppoulos et al, 2009;Chang et al, 2013;Ogce et al, 2013;Stajduhar, 2013, Ugur et al, 2014.…”

Symptom management of cancer patients

“…Örn: Meme kanseri olan hastalarda semptom sıklıkla-rı sırasıyla yorgunluk (%51), uyku bozuklukları (%36.30), sıkıntı (%30.80), ağrı (%29.20) şeklinde görülürken, bu lenfomalı olan hastalarda yorgunluk (%67), uyuşukluk (%41.90), uyku bozuklukları (%39.20), stress (%36.50), iştahsızlık (%36.50) şeklinde görülmektedir. [4][5] Kanser hastalarında semptom yönetimi hastanın fiziksel ve psikolojik semptomlarının giderilmesinde önem taşımaktadır.…”