Informal caregivers' strategies at home for terminally ill lung cancer patients

Abstract

When it comes to the care of patients who are dying it is necessary to recognize problems and implement strategies and solutions which will deal with the necessities of both the patient and non-professional carer.
This paper is based on actual case studies and has as its objective the non-professional carers who take care of terminally-ill lung cancer patients at home or in a domestic environment. The results highlight the enormous effort required on the part of these carers to overcome all the inevitable ensuing difficult situations including death, whilst only being able to rely on the help of family members and friends or resorting to emergency hospital admission or as a last resort, special vocational Hospices for the treatment of those with chronic illnesses.
This case study was not based on probabilities or statistics but on the data gathered over four interviews from willing non-professional carers of adult patients who died in 2008. The said patients died of non-small-cell metastasized lung cancer and had gone through chemotherapy in the outpatients department of the Central Hospital Lung Department.
On analysis of the data compiled over the course of the interviews, the following list of categories was drawn up:
1. The difficulties faced by non-professional carers.
2. The strategies required in dealing with and resolving said difficulties.
3. The effects of caring for the patient on the carer.
4. The positive feelings of the carer.
5. The negative feelings of the carer.
6. Perception of carers to the patients’ reaction to the care given.
The results draw attention to the enormous effort required on the part of the carers to get through each day. Without the help of a structured support system, carers are required to find ways to cope with all associated issues, relying only on the help of family members, friends, professionals, hospital internment and Emergency services. A structured support system would transform the terminal stage into something dignified by giving both the dying patient and the caring people around them some peace and comfort.