Abstract
This study aims to clarify the burden on family members of cancer patients and the need to provide them with psychological care/support. Five hundred family members of cancer patients were administered a self-reported questionnaire via the Internet. The survey results showed that 94.4% of the patients were notified of their diseases, and that the notifications were received favorably among 85.6% of the family members. The family members stated that they found the instance of disease notification the most stressful. Furthermore, only 15.1% of the family members were provided with psychological care/support by medical staff. On the other hand, 41.1 % of the family members consulted someone when they were distressed. In many cases, the person consulted was a family member other than the patient. Notably, the percentage of votes for “I would be more distressed if I was diagnosed with cancer rather than my family member,” “I would be more distressed if my family member was diagnosed with cancer rather than me,” and “This is a which came first, the chicken or the egg? issue” were approximately even. The family members hoped psychological care/support was tendered by the doctors throughout the course of treatment through measures such as empowerment, providing right information and sound advice, guidance on the appropriate behavior for a cancer patient, counseling, etc.
