Caregiving for cancer patients can cause stress among family caregivers. Caregiving stress is also associated with guilt as they cannot provide adequate care for cancer patients. However, guilt among family caregivers of cancer patients is poorly understood. This qualitative study aimed to explore the dynamics of guilt feelings in families that care for cancer patients. This study involved 45 family caregivers of cancer patients. Thematic data analysis was conducted. There were six themes emerging. Caregiving can be challenging, guilt and blame, guilt due to lack of self-capacity, guilt for neglecting others, no guilt at all, and discussion of guilt and blame as a caregiver. This study offers insight into social workers regarding the challenges and experiences faced by family caregivers of cancer patients. Appropriate health interventions and support should be provided to family caregivers of cancer patients to improve their well-being.
Purpose: Hope is vital for cancer patients to cope with their illnesses. It is positively associated with better health outcomes, quality of life, and daily functioning. However, restoring hope after a cancer diagnosis can be challenging, especially for young adult cancer patients. This research aimed to investigate hope among young adults with cancer throughout their cancer experience and the exploration of hope preservation in these individuals. Methods: This qualitative study involved 14 young adults recruited from a closed Facebook group. The median age of the participants was 30.5 years (range 20-39 years), and their median survival year was 3 years (range 1-18 years from the date of diagnosis). Semistructured interviews and a thematic analysis were performed to identify the major themes that emerged from these interviews. Results: The findings identified that young adults expressed hopes for cancer advocacy, good physical and mental health, ease in the afterlife, and uncertain hopes due to thoughts of death. Three areas that influenced their hope are: (1) active hope with cancer peers; (2) cancer prognosis and hope; and (3) hope comes from prayer. Their cultural and religious beliefs influenced the various forms of hope and affected their experiences with cancer. In addition, this study discovered that not all positive communication with their physician resulted in hope. Conclusion: These findings provide important insight to health care professionals (HCPs) by encouraging young adults to discuss hope and improving the existing oncology social work-based intervention. This study suggests that hope is essential for chronic illness patients and should be supported continuously during and after treatments.
The present study aimed to explore the use of meaning-making coping mechanisms (existential, spiritual and religious coping) among ethnic Malay cancer patients in Malaysia and to investigate the impact of culture on their choice of coping methods. Twenty-nine participants with various kinds of cancer were interviewed. Four kinds of coping resources emerged from analyses of the interview transcripts: (1) relying on transcendent power, (2) supernatural or mystical beliefs, (3) finding oneself in relationships with others and (4) nature. In this article, the two first resources are in focus. The present findings suggest that Malay culture, which is imbued with Islamic belief, strongly influences cancer patients' coping methods and ways of looking at their experience of being cancer patients.