By the end of 1997, more than 1.3 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed, and it is estimated that two of every three American families will at some time have at least one family member diagnosed with cancer. The current trend toward earlier discharge from acute care hospitals and the expected increase in home care may result in more adult children becoming involved in caring for physically dependent parent. Furthermore, advances in cancer treatment have led to increased survivorship, which in turn has led to caregiving demands that may exist for several months to years. Family caregiving requires adjustments in daily schedules, imposes financial burdens, and causes the individual members to reevaluate their relationships with the patient.

The impact of the disease on the family is multifocal. Caring for a loved one with cancer at home entails inherent physical, psychological and financial burdens. Complex symptom management represents a challenge for the patients and their family members. Whether or not they feel competent to do so and despite the stress of incorporating caregiving into their daily lives, family members become active caregivers. Family caregivers report feelings of anxiety, depression, fear, helplessness, anger, guilt and uncertainty. Although these feelings have been recognized, little had been done to meet their plea for help. Furthermore, family caregivers have several needs that range from informational, personal, household, patient care that are not fully acknowledged by health care providers.

Although the impact of cancer on family roles and relationships has often been cited in the literature and much has been written about the caregiver experiences and needs in the nursing and cancer care literature over the last two decades, no one text completely addresses these problems. In addition because of its sometime-complex nature, many feel that the information in these hundreds of pages of professional journals is too "difficult" to understand. The author tried to abstract that vast amount of information in the few pages of this book without losing sight of the numerous problems at hand in order to push for intervention, education and support to meet the needs of the family caregiver. These needs have been created by problems of modern medicine and swift changes in heath care. The book also is intended to raise awareness of the stresses evoked by a caregiving relationship and active involvement by health and social services professionals for reducing these stresses.