Psychological Experiences of Persons with Parents Suffering From Cancer

Session

Psychology

Description

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world, surpassed only by cardiovascular disease. It can have a drastic impact on families. The purpose of this research is to expand our knowledge about the special psychological experiences of persons who have parents affected by cancer, more specifically to gain more understanding about the psychological experiences which are most pronounced, and to see how their parent's illness affects their personal lives. There were 5 participants in this qualitative research, all adult children of parents diagnosed with cancer. The data were collected through a semi-structured individual interviews, which consisted of ten questions. All interviews were transcribed to further analyze the different perspectives offered by these participants on this topic. Each of the participants reported specific psychological experiences with initial mixed thoughts and feelings. Some of them experienced sleep problems, others needed to make family arrangements to stay close to their parent. All participants used their own ways to support and alleviate their parents’ coping with cancer, and tried to spend relatively long and beautiful time with their parent regardless of the difficulties and confrontations in which they are finding themselves. Our research suggests that the most prominent psychological experiences present among these participants are anxiety, stress, emotional shock, fear, sleep disturbances, and sadness. Persons supporting a parent with cancer are in great need for psycho-social support.

Keywords:

cancer, parent, psychological experience, coping, support

Session Chair

Violeta Zefi

Session Co-Chair

Denis Celcima

Proceedings Editor

Edmond Hajrizi

ISBN

978-9951-437-96-7

Location

Lipjan, Kosovo

Start Date

31-10-2020 1:30 PM

End Date

31-10-2020 3:00 PM

DOI

10.33107/ubt-ic.2020.485

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Oct 31st, 1:30 PM Oct 31st, 3:00 PM

Psychological Experiences of Persons with Parents Suffering From Cancer

Lipjan, Kosovo

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world, surpassed only by cardiovascular disease. It can have a drastic impact on families. The purpose of this research is to expand our knowledge about the special psychological experiences of persons who have parents affected by cancer, more specifically to gain more understanding about the psychological experiences which are most pronounced, and to see how their parent's illness affects their personal lives. There were 5 participants in this qualitative research, all adult children of parents diagnosed with cancer. The data were collected through a semi-structured individual interviews, which consisted of ten questions. All interviews were transcribed to further analyze the different perspectives offered by these participants on this topic. Each of the participants reported specific psychological experiences with initial mixed thoughts and feelings. Some of them experienced sleep problems, others needed to make family arrangements to stay close to their parent. All participants used their own ways to support and alleviate their parents’ coping with cancer, and tried to spend relatively long and beautiful time with their parent regardless of the difficulties and confrontations in which they are finding themselves. Our research suggests that the most prominent psychological experiences present among these participants are anxiety, stress, emotional shock, fear, sleep disturbances, and sadness. Persons supporting a parent with cancer are in great need for psycho-social support.