Psychological effects of breast cancer in women and their families: A systematic review
1 Midwifery Department, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece.
2 General Anti-Cancer Hospital Agios Savvas, Athens, Greece.
3 Konstantopouleio” General Hospital of Nea Ionia, Athens, Greece.
Review Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 18(02), 1263–1279
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2023.18.2.0945
Publication history:
Received on 11 April 2023; revised on 22 May 2023; accepted on 24 May 2023
Abstract:
Introduction: Breast cancer may have a significant impact on the psychosocial well-being, not only of the women diagnosed, but also on their family members.
Aim: The purpose of this review and narrative synthesis is to investigate the affect of breast cancer on women and their family.
Methods: The electronic databases Scopus, Psycinfo, Science Direct and Pubmed were searched during the period 2010-2020. We followed the PRISMA guidelines and the PICO framework with Boolean operators. Of the 1126 articles identified, only 35 were used in the final configuration of the systematic review, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria that were set.
Results: The 35 articles that were finally included in this review focused mainly on the relationship of women with breast cancer with their family. More specifically, family seems to play a significant role for women with breast cancer. Dynamics and roles among the family members are affected and burdened because of the disease. Family caregivers provide support to women with breast cancer, and patients receiving family care seem to respond more effectively to their treatment and manage to cope with their illness. Both breast cancer patients and family caregivers seek psychosocial support. Breast cancer can also have a detrimental effect on their family caregivers, their partners and the extended family.
Conclusion: A supportive family may a have a positive impact on patients’ psychosocial wellbeing. Providing psychosocial support to both patients and family members may significantly improve the quality of life for the whole family.
Keywords:
Breast cancer and family; Partner and children; Family caregivers; Psychosocial impact on family
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Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0