Prolonged cancer death. A family affair.

The frequency with which families have to deal with cancer death is increasing as the population ages. The prevalence of some cancers in younger people is also increasing. In this article the authors focus on helping families deal with the anticipated cancer death of a family member. The article includes a definition of those groups of people who form families in the 1990s and examines dimensions along which families vary such as belief systems. We discuss the needs of families when a family member has a terminal cancer diagnosis and outline coping strategies that are seen in families and ways in which nurses and other health care professionals can facilitate adaptive coping.