“Partner”, “Caregiver”, or “Co-Survivor”—Might the Label We Give the Partners of Cancer Patients Affect the Health Outcome of the Patients and Their Partners?

UBC Faculty Research and Publications

“Partner”, “Caregiver”, or “Co-Survivor”—Might the Label We Give the Partners of Cancer Patients Affect the Health Outcome of the Patients and Their Partners? McGillivray, Hannah M. K.; Piccolo, Elisabetta E. L.; Wassersug, Richard J. (Richard Joel), 1946-

Abstract

Having a life partner significantly extends survival for most cancer patients. The label given to the partners of cancer patients may, however, influence the health of not just the patients but their partners. “Caregiver” is an increasingly common label for the partners of patients, but it carries an implicit burden. Referring to partners as “caregivers” may be detrimental to the partnerships, as it implies that the individuals are no longer able to be co-supportive. Recognizing this, there has been some effort to relabel cancer dyads as “co-survivors”. However, many cancer patients are not comfortable being called a “survivor”, and the same may apply to their partners. Cancer survivorship, we argue, could be enhanced by helping keep the bond between patients and their partners strong. This includes educating patients and partners about diverse coping strategies that individuals use when facing challenges to their health and wellbeing. We suggest that preemptive couples’ counselling in cancer centers may benefit both patients and their partners.

Item Metadata

Title	“Partner”, “Caregiver”, or “Co-Survivor”—Might the Label We Give the Partners of Cancer Patients Affect the Health Outcome of the Patients and Their Partners?
Creator	McGillivray, Hannah M. K.; Piccolo, Elisabetta E. L.; Wassersug, Richard J. (Richard Joel), 1946-
Publisher	Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date Issued	2021-12-27
Description	Having a life partner significantly extends survival for most cancer patients. The label given to the partners of cancer patients may, however, influence the health of not just the patients but their partners. “Caregiver” is an increasingly common label for the partners of patients, but it carries an implicit burden. Referring to partners as “caregivers” may be detrimental to the partnerships, as it implies that the individuals are no longer able to be co-supportive. Recognizing this, there has been some effort to relabel cancer dyads as “co-survivors”. However, many cancer patients are not comfortable being called a “survivor”, and the same may apply to their partners. Cancer survivorship, we argue, could be enhanced by helping keep the bond between patients and their partners strong. This includes educating patients and partners about diverse coping strategies that individuals use when facing challenges to their health and wellbeing. We suggest that preemptive couples’ counselling in cancer centers may benefit both patients and their partners.
Subject	partner; caregiver; partnership; sexuality; quality of life; survival; counselling
Genre	Article
Type	Text
Language	eng
Date Available	2022-02-08
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	CC BY 4.0
DOI	10.14288/1.0406524
URI	http://hdl.handle.net/2429/80797
Affiliation	Medicine, Faculty of; Non UBC; Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Department of
Citation	Current Oncology 29 (1): 122-129 (2022)
Publisher DOI	10.3390/curroncol29010010
Peer Review Status	Reviewed
Scholarly Level	Faculty; Other
Rights URI	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository	DSpace

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