Determinants of family care giver reaction. New and recurrent cancer.
OBJECTIVE
The authors examined the interaction of patient and care giver variables and identified whether changes in new and recurrent patients' levels of symptoms, functioning, and depression were related to changes in care givers' reactions to providing care.


METHODS
During a 6-month observation period, the psychosocial status and burden of a matched sample of patients with either new or recurrent cancer and their family care givers were assessed and compared.


RESULTS
Care givers of patients with recurrent disease experienced a marginally significantly different impact on depression over time. The type of disease (new or recurrent) did not impact care givers reactions to the care they were providing for patients. Instead, patients' symptoms and symptom experience incurred a greater impact on care giver depression.


CONCLUSIONS
The impact of cancer on patients and family care givers must be evaluated carefully and thoroughly, regardless of whether the diagnosis is new or recurrent. Patients' symptoms and symptom experience, mobility, and dependencies in instrumental activities of daily living are primary influences in creating emotional burden and depression in the family care giver of the patient diagnosed with new and with recurrent cancer.
Given
B A
BA
College of Nursing, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, USA.
Given
C W
CW
Helms
E
E
Stommel
M
M
DeVoss
D N
DN
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*