The recurrence experience: family concerns during cancer chemotherapy

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Summary: Cancer affects the entire family but limited description exists of the experience of cancer recurrence from the perspective of the family. The purpose of this report was to describe family concerns when a family member experiences out‐patient chemotherapy (CTX) for cancer recurrence. During a 6‐month study period, 34 adults with recurrence of breast (50%), colorectal (15%), and other selected tumours, and their family members (n= 38) participated in three home interviews. The Lewis et al. (1986) Problem Centered Family Coping Interview (PCFCI) was used to obtain family concerns, management strategies, and their effects. The interview data were thematically analysed by a panel of three nurses. Families reported from one to eight family concerns, with the number varying minimally from the first PCFCI mean of 33 (SD 1‐8). Cancer‐related concerns accounted for 35–43% of those identified; next in frequency was family issues (3–14%), then finances (5–10%). The most important concern did change over the study for some families. Families had minimal difficulty in identifying concerns or in reaching consensus as to the most important family concern. The average impact of the most important concern on the family ranged from 4·1 to 47middot;8 on a six‐point scale, with 6′ defined as an extreme amount. There is considerable conjecture in practice about the cancer recurrence event for patients and their family members. This study contributes to an understanding of the family's experience with disease recurrence.

This publication has 14 references indexed in Scilit: