Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Apr 17;184(7):E373-82.
doi: 10.1503/cmaj.111622. Epub 2012 Mar 19.

Social, psychological and existential well-being in patients with glioma and their caregivers: a qualitative study

Debbie Cavers  1 , Belinda Hacking, Sara E Erridge, Marilyn Kendall, Paul G Morris, Scott A Murray
Affiliations

Social, psychological and existential well-being in patients with glioma and their caregivers: a qualitative study

Debbie Cavers et al. CMAJ. .

Abstract

Background: Cerebral glioma has a devastating impact on cognitive, physical, social, psychological and spiritual well-being. We sought to understand the multidimensional experience of patients with this form of cancer as they progressed from receiving a diagnosis to the terminal phase of the disease.

Methods: We recruited patients with a suspected brain tumour from a tertiary referral centre in the United Kingdom. We interviewed patients and their caregivers at key stages of the illness: before receiving a formal diagnosis, at the start of initial treatment, after initial treatment was completed and at six months' follow-up; caregivers were also interviewed postbereavement. We interviewed the patients' general practitioners once, after treatment had been completed. We transcribed the interviews and analyzed them thematically using the constant comparative method of a grounded theory approach.

Results: We conducted in-depth interviews with 26 patients, 23 of their relatives and 19 general practitioners. We saw evidence of physical, social, psychological and existential distress even before a diagnosis was confirmed. Social decline followed a similar trajectory to that of physical decline, whereas psychological and existential distress were typically acute around diagnosis and again after initial treatment. Each patient's individual course varied according to other factors including the availability of support and individual and family resources (e.g., personal resilience and emotional support).

Interpretation: There are practical ways that clinicians can care for patients with glioma and their caregivers, starting from before a diagnosis is confirmed. Understanding the trajectories of physical, social, psychological and existential well-being for these patients allows health care professionals to predict their patients' likely needs so they can provide appropriate support and sensitive and effective communication.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Davies E, Hopkins A. Improving care for patients with malignant cerebral glioma, London (UK): Royal College of Physicians of London; 1997
    1. Chang SM, Parney IF, Huang W, et al. Patterns of care for adults with newly diagnosed malignant glioma. JAMA 2005;293:557–64 - PubMed
    1. Janda M, Eakin EG, Bailey L, et al. Supportive care needs of people with brain tumours and their carers. Support Care Cancer 2006;14:1094–103 - PubMed
    1. Janoff-Bulman R. Shattered assumptions: towards a new psychology of trauma. New York (NY): The Free Press; 1992
    1. Brennan J. Adjustment to cancer — coping or personal transition? Psychooncology 2001;10:1–18 - PubMed

Publication types