Family members’ experiences and concerns as loved ones undergo chemotherapy treatment for cancer

Abstract

Imagine hearing that one of our family or someone we dearly love has just been given a diagnosis of colorectal cancer, has to undergo major surgery and then at minimum, a six month course of chemotherapy. These are stories doctors relate to patients and their families every day. However, when it comes to us personally, when we are that family member sitting in that chair in the doctor’s office with a loved one, and, hearing those words, we are shocked to the core. Our lives as well as theirs, will change forever, and whether we know it or not we (family members) are the most important people for that patient to help them get through this most difficult life-threatening experience. So the question is - how would we face it? How would we deal with it and, what would it be like for us as family members to care for, ...