The Emotions and Coping Strategies of Caregivers of Family Members with a Terminal Cancer

Abstract

This study documents the emotional experiences and coping strategies of a group of caregivers as they move from the diagnosis of a close family member with terminal cancer through the stages of caring and post bereavement. Supportive evidence, matching that of previous literature, was gathered regarding the impact of such care, but additional findings counter the notion of “burden” by revealing that strong positive emotions were experienced by these caregivers regarding the opportunity given to them to express their love through care. By contrast and post bereavement, however, intense grief was reported. There appeared to be a complete lack of emotional support throughout from health professionals, particularly in the bereavement phase when need is very apparent.

The Psychosocial Context of Bereavement for Older Women Who Were Caregivers for a Spouse With Advanced Cancer

“…A death from cancer often occurs after an intense, challenging trajectory of decline, with difficult-to-manage symptoms and obvious declines in physical functioning (Lunney, Lynn, Foley, Lipson, & Guralnik, 2003), which may have a distinctive impact on bereavement. Bereaved family caregivers of cancer patients describe their bereavement experience of overwhelming emotions and a lack of support (Grbich, Parker, & Maddocks, 2001;Hudson, 2006;Kristjanson, Cousins, Smith, & Lewin, 2005;McLaughlin, Sullivan, & Hasson, 2007). Depression (Wyatt, Friedman, Given, & Given, 1999), loss of appetite (Brazil et al, 2003), sleep problems (Carter, 2005), poor health (Kristjanson et al, 2005), distressing grief over an unpredictable length of time (Chentsova-Dutton et al, 2002), and higher rates of death during bereavement (Christakis & Iwashyna, 2003) have been reported in studies with bereaved caregivers of cancer patients.…”

Complementary therapy and support services for formal and informal caregivers in Italian palliative care hospices: an exploratory and descriptive study

“…Caregiving has relevant costs for families mainly in terms of stress. Sources of stress for patients' families include uncertainty about treatment, lack of knowledge about patient care, role changes within the family, lack of transportation for treatment, strained financial resources, changes in paid employment, and a reduction in leisure time [25,26]. Furthermore, caregivers report additional disruptions and emotional strains including difficulty getting enough sleep, lack of control over everyday life, deterioration in their own health, exacerbation of previous health problems, postponement of their own healthcare, feelings of distress, feelings of resentment and isolation, and lack of social support [26][27][28][29][30][31].…”

Caregivers’ morbidity in palliative care unit: predicting by gender, age, burden and self-esteem

“…Focusing on self-esteem in caregivers of advanced disease patients is important because caregivers who report low levels of self-esteem might be at greater risk of developing adverse psychological adjustment during or after caregiving [14]. Self-esteem evaluation was introduced to determine the assessment of death anxiety because most caregivers felt they were unsure of how they would cope with death [15]. Thus, information about caregivers' self-esteem could be useful in developing psychological interventions to enhance caregiver well-being and thereby improve quality of life for both patient and caregiver.…”