Outpatient chemotherapy: patients' and family members' concerns and coping strategies

Since the majority of cancer chemotherapy is given on an outpatient basis, it is important for nurses in the community to understand the concerns that patients and family members experience during the treatment and how they manage these concerns. The 64 adult patients were diagnosed with selected solid tumors or lymphoma and were initiating a course of chemotherapy. Sixty-nine family members participated as well. Each participant kept a log in which to record concerns and strategies taken to manage them. Patients reported fewer concerns than their families, but both had similar concerns and rated them as high in intensity. Patients performed more strategies than family members, but both rated the effectiveness of their strategies as moderately high and cited themselves as the sources of the strategies.