Caregivers of Patients with Cancer Fatigue: a High Level of Symptom Burden

Overview

Journal Am J Hosp Palliat Care

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialties Critical Care
Nursing

Date 2013 Feb 26

PMID 23434836

Citations 14

Authors

Matthew M Clark

Pamela J Atherton

Maria I Lapid

Sarah M Rausch

Marlene H Frost

Andrea L Cheville

Jean M Hanson

Yolanda I Garces

Paul D Brown

Jeff A Sloan

Jarrett W Richardson

Katherine M Piderman

Teresa A Rummans

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Fatigue is the problematic symptom identified by patients with cancer. However, fatigue has not been widely examined in caregivers of patients with cancer. In this study, 131 caregivers of patients diagnosed with advanced stage cancer and actively receiving radiotherapy reported experiencing the most difficulties with fatigue (mean 46.9; on a 0-100 scale, with a 10-point difference having clinical meaning) at baseline and at a 6-month follow-up (mean 48.3). This is in sharp contrast to other domains of quality of life and functioning being rated in the 60s, 70s and 80s by the caregivers of patients with cancer. Given the level of fatigue reported by the caregivers of patients with cancer, if confirmed by other investigators in larger and more diverse samples, interventions targeting caregiver fatigue should be explored.

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