The DOI matches its Crossref record; 76 of the 78 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The psychological impact of cancer on patients’ partners and other key relatives
Abstract
Partners and other family members are key supports for cancer patients. Most cope well with the caregiving role, but an important minority become highly distressed or develop an affective disorder. Female carers and those with a history of psychiatric morbidity are more vulnerable, as are those who take a more negative view of the patient's illness and its impact on their lives. Carers are likely to become more distressed and develop psychiatric morbidity as the illness advances and treatment is palliative. Carers are also more at risk when they lack a support network of their own and when there are relationship difficulties with the patient. The review discusses why, given this evidence, carers fail to take advantage of interventions designed to help them and those who participate derive only limited psychological benefits.
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In the citing paper
“Although some of these interventions have become available during the last decade, most partners do not use these interventions because they are not aware of their own health problems, they have a lack of time, or they are reluctant to seek help [2, 3, 8, 9].”
In the citing paper
“Family caregivers of cancer patients exhibit high levels of stress and depression, lower subjective well-being, worse physical health, and higher mortality compared to non-caregivers [2–8, 19–25], yet few studies focus on improving outcomes for caregivers [26].”
From Being present: A single-arm feasibility study of audio-based mindfulness meditation for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“A cancer diagnosis is associated with high levels of distress, leading to frequent anxiety, depression, fear of recurrence/progression, sleep disturbance, and fatigue in both patients and caregivers [1–8].”
From Being present: A single-arm feasibility study of audio-based mindfulness meditation for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“A metastatic cancer diagnosis is associated with high levels of distress in patients and caregivers.”
From Being present: A single-arm feasibility study of audio-based mindfulness meditation for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“Conversely, longer survival comes at a cost for caregivers: the negative effects of caregiving, including a higher mortality rate, are most pronounced in caregivers of patients with advanced cancer [2, 3, 20], particularly when patients have a protracted disease course [25] and are receiving palliative care [4, 21].”
From Being present: A single-arm feasibility study of audio-based mindfulness meditation for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“Yet we found comparable distress levels in patients and caregivers, and emotional distress in particular may be even higher in caregivers, corroborating previous findings [2–6].”
From Being present: A single-arm feasibility study of audio-based mindfulness meditation for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“Distress in caregivers contributes to distress in patients [24], in addition to negatively impacting the health of caregivers themselves [2–4, 20, 21, 25], and likely other family members (e.g. many of our participants had young children).”
From Being present: A single-arm feasibility study of audio-based mindfulness meditation for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“Another shortcoming of the existing interventions is that partners of cancer patients seem to make no or only limited use of them [6-8].”
Citations
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- Pitceathly C, Maguire P, Haddad P, Fletcher I. Affective disorders amongst carers of cancer patients (under review).
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Hagedoorn, M., Sanderman, R., Bolks, H. N., Tuinstra, J., & Coyne, J. C. (2008) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.1.1 · Cited by 777
Major depression after breast cancer: a review of epidemiology and treatment
Fann, J. R., Thomas-Rich, A. M., Katon, W. J., Cowley, D., Pepping, M., McGregor, B. A., & Gralow, J. (2008) · General Hospital Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2007.10.008 · Cited by 586
Hodges, L. J., Humphris, G. M., & Macfarlane, G. (2005) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.018 · Cited by 533
Hidden morbidity in cancer: spouse caregivers
Braun, M., Mikulincer, M., Rydall, A., Walsh, A., & Rodin, G. (2007) · Journal of Clinical Oncology · doi:10.1200/jco.2006.10.0909 · Cited by 526
Quality of life of family caregivers of cancer survivors: Across the trajectory of the illness
Kim, Y., & Given, B. A. (2008) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/cncr.23449 · Cited by 463
Metadata
- Authors
- Pitceathly, C., & Maguire, P.
- Affiliations
- The Christie Hospital (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Pitceathly, C.
- ORCID
- Maguire, P.
- Venue
- European Journal of Cancer
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2003-07
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1517-1524
- ISSN
- 0959-8049 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2006081945
- Cited by
- 531
- References
- 78
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 37 · 2013: 44 · 2012: 44
- FWCI
- 0.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Journal of Cancer (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Cancer Research UK
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Research and Theory › Nursing care and research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family Support in Illness
- Keywords
- cancer caregiving, family caregivers, caregiver distress, mood disorders, psychiatric morbidity, palliative care, caregiver support interventions, relationship problems, caregiver support networks
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Age Factors, Anxiety, Communication, Depressive Disorder, Family Health, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Neoplasms, Respite Care, Sex Factors, Social Class, Social Support, Caregivers, Patient Satisfaction, Cost of Illness, Spouses
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