Caregivers for HNC survivors are important
Caregivers play a crucial role in the physical and emotional well-being
of people with cancer. This role is especially important for HNC as
survivors are more likely to lack familial and social support and
require more frequent and more detailed care while at home. HNC
survivors tend to be older; face increased social isolation; and need
help with feeding, communicating (speaking), and adhering to treatment.
These factors impede core aspects of daily life for HNC patients, thus
necessitating significant responsibilities for informal caregivers.
Caregivers often face challenges such as managing their emotional and
physical stress, balancing work and family responsibilities, and needing
help keeping the person they care for safe. To this mix in the current
crisis is the balance of keeping themselves safe from infection and
sustaining adequate survivor engagement to maintain health. Finally,
survivors in rural areas may lack access to an already-diminished pool
of caregivers, and perceived stigma or feelings of guilt in asking for
help among rural cancer survivors are additional barriers to obtaining
needed assistance.