Needs for patients with cancer who have young children.

Abstract

150 Background: The number of cancer patients has been increasing in Japan. It is estimated that 56,143 parents with 87,017 young children (under 18 years old) are diagnosed with cancer per year in Japan (Inoue, 2015). The aim of this study is to investigate the needs of cancer patients who have young children. Methods: The survey was conducted from February to April 2018 to the cancer patients who have young children treated at the National Cancer Center Hospital with the questionnaires. It was on items about parenting concerns evaluated with the 4-point Likert scale: 1. strongly disagree, 2. slightly disagree, 3. slightly agree, and 4. strongly agree. The items included “cancer notification to their children”, “parental anxieties”, and others. The items were analyzed separately. Results: The respondents were 152 (143 cancer patients (94%) and nine spouses (6%)). Most respondents (92%) agreed the importance of psychosocial support for the children and parents in hospital. The average age of their young children (n = 237) was 9.5 (ages 0 – 17). The result showed that 148 (62%) children were told true parents’ illness. This study also revealed that parents were struggling with the conflict telling their children truth. Most parents wanted to protect children from emotional distresses and were afraid of it or don’t know how to cope with some changes during treatments. Conclusions: The study describes how cancer impacts on parents for child rearing. Almost all of the patients with minor children had been found psychologically distressed. It is necessary to improve an effective psychosocial support system in hospitals for cancer patients with young children based on their needs.