Cancer Caregiver Survey Shows Dramatic Physical, Emotional and Financial Effects of Caring for Cancer Patients

We recently came across these findings from NavigatingCancer.com, who surveyed 326 cancer caregivers online in October 2010. They defined a cancer caregiver as "someone who provides unpaid assistance such as personal care, help with medications and other treatments, transportation to doctor’s appointments and arranging services."

Not shockingly, the survey exposed how unpaid caregivers, often family members or the spouse of the patient, encounter physical, emotional and financial effects as a result of caring for a loved one with cancer.

Half of caregivers surveyed (50%) reported their health was negatively affected as a result of their experience caring for a loved one with cancer. The most common ailments experienced with regularity were stress (89%), anxiety (79%), fatigue (77%), and sleep issues (70%).

Over half (53%) of cancer caregivers surveyed were the sole caretaker for their loved one, receiving no significant help from family, friends or community organizations.

For most of those surveyed, caring for a loved one with cancer was an additional responsibility on top of the caregiver’s regular employment. The majority of caregivers surveyed (59%) spent over 20 hours a week caring for their loved one. Yet almost half were also employed full time, with 65% employed either full or part time.

Of particular note to the health care professionals and providers in our community, the findings also indicated that resources of cancer caregivers are scattered and not often supplied by the medical community, our results showed. Over half (61%) of caregivers surveyed did not receive any information designed for caregivers from the patient’s healthcare team. When looking for resources, 61% of caregivers found useful information on cancer specific websites or blogs, with 55% of recommendations coming from friends and family.

When caregivers were asked to rank the most useful resources for their work, they identified and ranked them as follows...

1. Comprehensive library of resource information
2. Health tracking tool for medications and side effects
3. Guide for new caregivers
4. System to organize medical forms and information

Additionally, 74% said they would use those resources if they were online.

Read the full Navigating Cancer caregiver survey results.

Are you a cancer caregiver, or do you know someone who is? Are you a health professional who works with family cancer caregivers? In your experience do these findings speak to unmet needs of a caregiver -- and how could we respond to these needs?