Mutual Needs and Wishes of Cancer Patients and Their family Caregivers During the Last Week of Life

Abstract

The last week of life represents an important time for people dying of cancer and their families. To explore the needs and wishes of patients and their caregivers during the last week of life at home, a descriptive phenomenological study was undertaken in a home care facility located in the northeast of Italy. A purposeful sample of participants affected by advanced cancer was included. For each included patient, a family member assuming the role of principal caregiver was also included. A total of 11 dyads (22 people) were selected and interviewed on a weekly basis. A series of qualitative, semistructured interviews was conducted. Each conversation was intended to provide researchers with an overview of the patient’s and family caregiver’s needs and wishes. The last interview conducted before the patient died was selected and considered for the analysis performed by researchers independently, who then worked closely together for theme triangulations. Needs and wishes in the last week of life were focused on four main themes: (a) Remaining attached to my life (“I wish I was doing things like I used to”); (b) Detaching myself from life, immediately (“I wish this Calvary were over”); (c) Dealing with the dying process (“Waiting in fear”); and (d) Starting to think of life without each other (“Unshared worries”). In order to improve personalized care in the last week of life, nurses are encouraged to assess both patient and caregiver needs and wishes, as well as their reciprocal influence and correspondence, to identify each patient–caregiver unit’s unique holistic care priorities.