Journal
ANNALS OF ONCOLOGY
Volume 24, Issue 10, Pages 2635-2640Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/annonc/mdt250
Keywords
cancer; caregiver; coping; distress; old age; social support
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Funding
- Israel Cancer Association [8006103/9]
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The population of the Western world is aging while cancer survival rates are rising. Older patients with cancer will increasingly be taken care of by informal family caregivers. The current study describes levels of psychological distress, social support and coping abilities reported by partners who are caregivers to older patients with cancer (60+ years), comparing them to a control group of spouses of similarly aged people not suffering from life-threatening illness. Two hundred sixteen partners who are primary caregivers of cancer patients aged 60+ were compared with 76 partners of healthy people aged 60+ and never diagnosed with any terminal illness. Participants completed self-reporting measures on psychological distress, coping ability and social support. Caregivers to cancer patients reported high levels of distress, low levels of social support and low levels of coping abilities which are negatively correlated to distress. Increased patient age was found to accentuate these processes. Age and the progression of cancer as a chronic illness present the physician with the reality that focus of care should be on the dyad (patient and caregiver), with high priority given to partners who are informal caregivers.
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