How home care and hospice nurses can assist adolescents when a parent is seriously ill: adolescents with seriously ill family members.

Anne's mother died of cancer last year when Anne was 13 years old. Shortly thereafter her brother, Andy, received a diagnosis of stage IV cancer. Anne and her dad, Mr. H., struggled to provide care for Andy while they at the same time grieved the death of her mother. Mr. H. worries about how to communicate with Anne. He notes that Anne was always closer to her mother. He struggles to establish a relationship with Anne and to support her through this difficult time. Bert's dad is terminally ill with liver cancer. Bert is 16 years old. His dad is constantly in and out of the hospital. Currently at home, he requires assistance with all activities of daily living. Health professionals visit the home on a regular basis. Mrs. N., Bert's mother, reports that Bert's grades have dropped and he avoids being in the home. She wonders how to help him while identifying that it is easier to focus on her husband when Bert is not at home.