Department of Palliative Medicine, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.
Department of Palliative Therapy, Cancer Institute Hospital of Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo, Japan.
Support Care Cancer. 2022 Sep;30(9):7715-7720. doi: 10.1007/s00520-022-07220-1. Epub 2022 Jun 14.
Many cancer patients with minor children experience difficulty talking about their illness with their children. This study aimed to investigate the parenting experiences of cancer patients with minor children and their conversations about the possibility of death.
A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted between April and May 2019. Cancer patients with at least one child aged < 18 years were recruited from an online peer support group called "Cancer Parents." The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their experiences of talking about their illnesses with their children. The participants were classified into those who disclosed their cancer to their children ("disclosing group"), and those who did not disclose ("non-disclosing group"). The association between whether they talked with their children about their cancer, and whether it included conversations about the possibility of death, was examined.
A total of 370 parents participated (with 80.8% female parents, with a median age of 43.0 years). The disclosing group (n = 274, 74.1%) wanted to know what their child felt, more than the non-disclosing group did (p < 0.001). Members of the non-disclosing group had a greater tendency than those in the disclosing group to report that they did not want their children to see their suffering (p = 0.002) and did not know how to explain their disease status (p < 0.002). Some members of both the disclosing (42.1%) and non-disclosing (6.5%) groups told their children about the possibility of death.
This study showed that 74.1% of the patients with minor children disclosed their cancer to their children. The parents' feelings when thinking about interacting with their children differed significantly between the disclosing and non-disclosing groups. It is important for healthcare professionals treating patients with cancer to provide appropriate multidisciplinary support for discussing their diagnosis and prognosis with their children.
许多有未成年子女的癌症患者在与子女谈论疾病时存在困难。本研究旨在调查有未成年子女的癌症患者的育儿经历以及他们关于死亡可能性的对话。
2019 年 4 月至 5 月期间，采用横断面网络问卷调查法，从一个名为“癌症父母”的在线互助群体中招募至少有一名 18 岁以下子女的癌症患者。参与者被要求完成一份关于与子女谈论疾病经历的问卷。根据参与者是否向子女透露癌症信息，将其分为“透露组”和“未透露组”。分析两组间是否与子女谈论癌症及是否包含死亡可能性的相关情况。
共 370 名家长参与了此次研究（80.8%为女性家长，中位年龄 43.0 岁）。与未透露组相比，透露组（n=274，74.1%）更希望了解子女的感受（p<0.001）。未透露组比透露组更倾向于报告他们不想让子女看到自己的痛苦（p=0.002），也不知道如何解释自己的疾病状况（p<0.002）。透露组（42.1%）和未透露组（6.5%）均有部分家长向子女提及了死亡的可能性。
本研究显示，74.1%的有未成年子女的癌症患者向子女透露了自己的癌症信息。透露组和未透露组的家长在思考与子女互动时的感受存在显著差异。为癌症患者提供适当的多学科支持，讨论他们的诊断和预后，对医疗保健专业人员来说非常重要。
