Cancer

Minimal research has been undertaken into needs of partners of adolescents and young adults with cancer. However, it is understood to be important for adolescents and young adults with cancer to maintain a connection with healthy peers and that they regard their loved ones, including partners, as valuable to them during their cancer treatment. Research has also suggested that adolescents and young adults consider that loved ones and partners also need support and that this support is lacking in cancer services.

Objective: Family caregivers (FCs) of cancer patients often experience high distress. This randomized clinical trial assessed the feasibility and preliminary effects of an intervention to improve FC supportive care. Method: A pragmatic and minimal intervention to improve FC supportive care was developed and pretested with FCs, oncology team, and family physicians to assess its relevance and acceptability. Then, FCs of lung cancer patients were randomized to the intervention or the control group.

Objective: Informal family caregivers provide critical support for patients receiving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T‐cell therapy. However, caregivers' experiences are largely unstudied. This study examined quality of life (QOL; physical functioning, pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression), caregiving burden, and treatment‐related distress in caregivers in the first 6 months after CAR T‐cell therapy, when caregivers were expected to be most involved in providing care. Relationships between patients' clinical course and caregiver outcomes were also explored.

Background: This study examined the association of needs, health literacy, and quality of life among adult Nigerians with cancer and family caregivers. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted involving 240 adults with cancer and family caregivers attending a tertiary hospital. More than two‐thirds of participants reported moderate or high needs. Results: Information (90.8%) and spiritual support (85%) were the domains of highest need among adults with cancer.

Background: Vietnam has experienced a rapid increase in cancer incidence with many cancers (70%) being diagnosed at a late stage. The majority of physical and psychosocial care is provided by caregivers with minimal professional input. Due to limited resources in hospitals and social and cultural norms regarding caregiving in Vietnam, caregivers provide a range of supportive functions for family members diagnosed with cancer.

Background: Informal caregivers, often family and friends, experience significant psychological and physical distress leading to reductions in health and quality of life (QOL). Mind-body interventions focused on caregivers are often limited and do not address multiple barriers, including caregivers’ economic, geographic, and time constraints. Translation of in-person, community-based interventions to Internet-based delivery may offer greater accessibility for caregivers, leading to increased adherence.

Background: Chronic diseases in childhood can affect the physical and mental health of patients and their families. Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify the sociodemographic and psychosocial factors that predict resilience in family caregivers of children with cancer and to define whether there are differences in the levels of resilience derived from these sociodemographic variables. Methods: Three hundred and thirty family caregivers of children with cancer, with an average age of 32.6 years were interviewed.

Background: Latinas with breast cancer draw on a diverse range of family members for informal care. Latin cultures typically prescribe high levels of support and care for an ill family member that leave caregivers vulnerable to compromised well-being. Method: In this cross-sectional survey study, 258 family caregivers of Latinas with breast cancer completed reports of psychological distress, availability of social support, and acculturation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse longitudinal development of prognostic awareness in advanced cancer patients and their families. Methods: This was a longitudinal cohort study, involving 134 adult cancer patients, 91 primary family caregivers and 21 treating oncologists. Key eligibility criterion for patients was life expectancy less than 1 year (estimated by their oncologists using the 12‐month surprised question).

Purpose: To examine cancer patients and their family caregivers' perspectives of care coordination (CC) using a dyadic research design. Methods: In this pilot cross-sectional study, 54 patient-family caregiver dyads completed a validated care coordination instrument (CCI) and its parallel family caregiver instrument (CCICG) from June to September 2019. The sample available for analysis included data from 32 dyads, which included patients receiving active therapy for any cancer type and their primary family caregivers aged 18 years or older.