Families face many complex issues when one of their loved ones has cancer. Cancer affects the entire family—the patient, the partner, the supportive adults, and the children. Finding out that you or someone close to you has cancer changes everything. It may remind people of other losses and force them to look at unpleasant realities. Being diagnosed with cancer may worsen conflicts that have not been resolved. Cancer and its treatment cause physical and mental symptoms, and treatment often changes day-to-day life for the whole family. It may cause financial stress and bring up fears of losing what is good in life. While all this is going on, some people will start to look more carefully at their religious beliefs, their work, and the way they live to decide if changes are needed. During all of these changes, there will be times when any family could use help with getting their emotional needs met.

Having cancer is hard. And getting through it can be a very involved and complicated process. Just as a person with cancer may need the services of a surgeon, medical oncologist, or radiation oncologist, there may be times when they might need the services of a psychosocial professional, too. There are also teams of experts, each with a different focus on mental or social health, who are trained in how cancer affects a family. This is the psychosocial team, which can offer the patient and the family support during this time.

Parents can have a powerful effect on how their children react to a crisis in the family. At first, this responsibility can feel like a huge weight, but it is possible for family members to learn how to deal with and even grow through the experience of having a family member with cancer. But at any time in the process, any family member may need extra help.

Go back to Helping Children When A Family Member Has Cancer: Understanding Psychosocial Support Services.

Last Medical Review: 05/28/2009
Last Revised: 05/28/2009