Abstract
Background
Cancer is recognized as a family illness as many head and neck cancer (HNC) patients after treatment require assistance from a family caregiver throughout the rest of their life. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of primary family caregivers of HNC patients dealing with laryngectomy regarding their complex supportive role.
Methods
Phenomenological study based on individual interviews of twelve primary caregivers of HNC patients, recruited by purposeful sampling. Interview contents were analyzed in depth, in accordance with Colaizzi’s descriptive analysis framework, to explore and identify significant themes and subthemes.
Results
Analysis evidenced three main topics and subthemes embracing various aspects of the caregiver’s lived experiences: (1) experiencing disease and the pathway of care, (2) handling changes to everyday life, and (3) support received by others.
Conclusion
Given the essential role the caregiver has in the patient’s post-treatment recovery, future planning of HNC patient care must consider the caregivers’ needs. In order to guarantee an appropriate and effective health professional care, it is important to consider caregivers’ issues and needs as part of HNC patient care planning from the diagnosis to the follow-up.
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Change history
07 December 2019
The name of Luca Ghirotto was incorrectly captured in the original manuscript.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Manuella Walker (Pisa, Italy) for the support in editing the paper.
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Dri, E., Bressan, V., Cadorin, L. et al. Providing care to a family member affected by head and neck cancer: a phenomenological study. Support Care Cancer 28, 2105–2112 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05026-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05026-2