Psychosocial issues
This chapter probes into the apprehensions, anxieties, and emotional problems faced by terminally ill patients, the emotions and psychosocial issues faced by the families and relatives, and how the feelings experienced by the patient and the family affect one another. Among the uncertainties felt by patients with cancer are the pain associated with the disease, the inevitable death, their increasing dependency, the future of their beloved, the need for further tests and investigations, the uncertainty of their condition, and the possibility of abandonment. For the part of the relatives and families, anxieties arise from the sense of inadequacy in terms of giving proper care and the sense of uncertainty of the future once the ordeal has passed. The chapter also includes a discussion on the family differences, tensions, anger, and frustration that may arise while coping with a family member with a terminal disease. It concludes with a discussion on how to overcome the anxieties felt by patients and their families.
Keywords: apprehensions, anxieties, emotional problems, psychosocial issues, pain, death, dependency, uncertainty, abandonment
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