Objective: It is known that families of terminally-ill cancer
patients show levels of emotional and functional disruption and are called
“second order patients,” however, little is actually known
about the health problems of family members, especially in terms of
cancer.
Methods: This study reviewed the family histories of
terminally-ill cancer patients in a palliative care unit and investigated
cancer related health problems of the spouses of terminally-ill cancer
patients.
Results: We investigated the past medical history of 125
spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients and found that five spouses had
a past medical history of cancer. In these five spouses, the duration of
illness, present status of treatment and physical condition were reviewed
from the database. Of these five spouses, three patients continued to
attend an outpatient clinic regularly for checkup and one patient was
hospitalized for nephrectomy. Two spouses did not have physical symptoms
that made them unable to provide direct care for the terminally-ill
spouses, while three could not provide care because of their own physical
symptoms derived from cancer.
Significance of results: Our findings indicated that some of
the spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients are not only “second
order patients” but also “cancer patients.” Our findings
also suggest that some spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients might
experience distress both as a cancer patient and as a spouse and may need
care both as a cancer patient and as a spouse.