Cancer

Background: Carers looking after someone with cancer often experience negative impacts on their own health. M-health interventions have been designed to provide information and support to patients and their carers. However, the effectiveness of technology-based interventions for carers is less well understood. The objectives were to assess the feasibility, useability and acceptability of technology-based interventions among carers of people living with cancer.

Objectives Family conflict has several adverse impacts on caregivers. Thus, there is significant value in determining the prevalence and predictors of family conflict, which can enable the health care provider to intervene if family conflict arises during end-of-life care. Accordingly, we aimed to explore the prevalence and predictors of conflict among the families of patients with advanced cancer who died in palliative care units.

Family and friends are important resources for patients during cancer treatment and warrant an expanded review of not only what they contribute to patient care but also the support they need and the personal consequences of caregiving. A review of 14 randomized controlled trials published between 2009 and 2016 was completed utilizing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.

The purpose of this study was to quantify the general cancer support activities that long‐term carers of head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors engage in; and the relationships between these care activities and psychological well‐being. Respondents answered a survey detailing their caring activities, the amount of time that they spent on those activities and how comfortable they felt engaging in them. Psychological well‐being was assessed by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales‐21. A total of 197 carers took part in the study. The majority (76%) were women, mean age 57.4.

Background: Caring for advanced cancer patients affects carers’ psychological and physical health. Resilience has been defined as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of threat.” Aim: The aim of this study was to explore factors promoting carer resilience, based on carers’ experiences with and preferences for health care provider support.

Background To investigate how cancer patients, family caregiver, and their treating oncologist view the risks and benefits of family involvement in cancer treatment decision making (TDM) or the degree to which these perceptions may differ. Patients and Methods A nationwide, multicenter survey was conducted with 134 oncologists and 725 of their patients and accompanying caregivers. Participant answered to modified Control Preferences Scale and investigator-developed questionnaire regarding family involvement in cancer TDM.

Glioma patients are not only confronted with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, but also with disease-specific symptoms that greatly affect everyday life. Common symptoms among patients include motor dysfunction, sensory loss, seizures, cognitive deficits, changes in behaviour and personality, mood issues, and fatigue. This review focuses on family caregivers, for whom dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of a brain tumour in their loved one while managing disease-specific symptoms can be challenging.

The aim of this review was to identify the factors associated with positive experiences in non‐professional carers of someone with a cancer diagnosis. A systematic search of the following electronic databases was undertaken: Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SocINDEX and Medline. Literature was searched using terms relating to cancer, caring and positive experiences. Additional records were identified through a manual search of relevant reference lists. The search included studies published in English from 1990 to June 2015.

Background: Family members provide vital care at end of life, enabling patients to remain at home. Such informal care contributes significantly to the economy while supporting patients’ preferences and government policy. However, the value of care-givers’ contributions is often underestimated or overlooked in evaluations. Without information on the activities and expenditures involved in informal care-giving, it is impossible to provide an accurate assessment of carers’ contribution to end-of-life care.

Background: Modern treatment for multiple myeloma (MM) has improved disease control and prolonged survival; thus, maintenance of quality of life (QoL) is considered a great concern for MM patients and their caregivers. The purpose of this study was to identify dyadic associations between stress appraisal and the QoL of patients with MM and their caregivers in Korea. Methods: A total of 102 MM patient‐caregiver dyads participated in this study. They independently reported their stress appraisal and QoL.