The Caregiving Quandary .
Long before I became a cancer caregiver, I worried about families. Providing care without a script, expanding their workload, solo decision making, incessant worrying, managing expectations, overseeing medications-that is the lay caregiver's all-consuming world. However, when cancer entered my residence, I started living what I had historically observed from a distance. The double-duty caregiving at work and home overwhelmed me. Years of experience did little to prepare me for the emotional tsunami and physical toll caregiving took on me. I questioned my ability to make decisions, I got my husband's medications mixed up, and I had trouble asking for and accepting help, despite how much I needed it. .
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Deborah A
DA
Boyle
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
activism; advocacy ; caregiving; leadership