Home Care Management of Breast Cancer Survivors: The Role of Caregivers

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. Starting from the stage of diagnosis, it causes serious stress for both the patient and her family and makes difficult all strategies for balancing and adaptation. Breast cancer should be considered a family disease since women are negatively affected by the fear and anxiety due to breast cancer, and this condition also negatively affects the family members. Caregivers can have various responsibilities in cancer care, which can last from diagnosis to the end of life. The increase in the number of people diagnosed with cancer, the prolonged survival of patients in parallel with the developments in diagnosis and treatment methods as well as the inadequacies in the health system brought to the need for more actively participating family members in the care of cancer. While caregivers are involved in all physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and economic dimensions of cancer care, they try to do their best with limited information.