The challenge of cancer caregiving: A theoretical review

Pages: 503-506
Shoma Chakrawarty and Dhanalakshmi D. (Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry)

Caregiving, or the simple task of one family member looking after another who is unwell, is a complex demand when the illness in question is cancer. Fear, uncertainty, distress, and crisis often accompany a diagnosis of cancer and these reactions are not limited to that of the individual affected with cancer alone. Instead, cancer effectively shakes the very foundation of the family it strikes and poses significant challenges to the family caregiver. No aspect of the caregiver’s life remains untouched. The current paper reviews the underlying themes of the concept of caregiving. It describes the various ways in which caregiving has been understood and how these ways have been synthesized into models. The most common caregiving outcomes are outlined to provide a brief overview of the problems caregivers have. Research in caregiving will be increasingly in demand in the years to come and this paper attempts to provide a preliminary bird’s eye view of cancer caregiving.