Abstract

GUIMARAES, Claudiane Aparecida  and  ENUMO, Sônia Regina Fiorim. Family impact in different stages of child leukemia. Psicol. teor. prat. [online]. 2015, vol.17, n.3, pp. 66-78. ISSN 1516-3687.

Child cancer is a disease that brings physical, emotional, and social imbalance to the patient’s whole family, especially his/her mother. During the disease process, she is a unity of care and support. This study analyzed the impact of leukemia on family at four different stages. It does so based on accounts of four mothers: account of one mother related to post diagnosis (M1); one related to treatment process (M2); one related to health maintenance (M3); and one related to palliative care (M4). They answered individually to PedsQLTM Family Impact Module questionnaire, which comprises 36 questions and eight dimensions. Leukemia affected all four families differently at each stage and dimension and in descending order: M4; M2; M1; M3. Disease’s impact was stronger on daily activities (M2) and cognitive functioning and relationships (M4). Assessing such clinical cases by taking into account disease’s stages and mother’s emotional variables may help to interfere with the process of coping with a major life stressor: the threat of her child’s death.

Keywords : quality of life; caregivers; cancer in children; stress; family crisis.

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