[What worries the oncology patient's caretaker?]

The authors describe and evaluate the main worries which are manifested by those who care for terminal phase oncology patients during the time a patient receives care in a palliative unit. By means of a semi-structured interview, the authors have analyzed the main worries expressed by 50 caretakers who attend to their respective terminal phase cancer patients. The results of this study show that those worries which have a psychosocial character receive a higher degree of worry by caretakers while those which are based on physical symptoms due to the illness are more important for the patients. On the other hand, these worries decrease significantly as the moment of death approaches. Knowing these concrete caretaker worries has made it possible to intervene at opportune moments, which has led to an increase in patients' wellbeing. This research project was carried out, in part, due to the help granted by the General Administration for Scientific and Technical Investigation of the Education and Culture Ministry (PB97-0212).