Caregivers of Patients with Laryngeal Cancer Treated by Radiotherapy

Introduction: Laryngeal cancer is a common head and neck cancer, but no study has reported exclusively on the well-being of the caregivers of patients with laryngeal cancer treated by radiotherapy. Objective: The present study aims to describe the well-being of the caregivers of patients with laryngeal cancer. Methods: The caregivers of patients undergoing radiotherapy with curative intent for laryngeal cancer were included in the present study, and they were asked to fill out a specific questionnaire, while the patients filled out the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) following diagnosis but prior to treatment. Results: A total of 50 caregivers were included. In total, 62% of the caregivers were spouses, while the remaining were daughters/sons (22%), siblings (12%), or “other” (4%). In general, the caregivers of patients with late-stage tumors tended to report lower (worse) scores on all domains (except hospital contact) compared with the caregivers of patients with early-stage tumors. No other differences were observed regarding the patients’ age, gender, tumor site or their HADS score. The female caregivers scored significantly lower (worse) on the depression/worry domain (p= 0.047); they also reported a statistically significant higher negative impact on employment (p=0.011) compared with the male caregivers. Conclusion: The diagnosis and treatment of laryngeal cancer impacts the caregiver’s psychological well-being, particularly that of female caregivers. This should be taken into consideration when the patients begin the hospital treatment pathway. However, larger studies are needed to target resources more appropriately.

Author(s): Caterina Finizia1 , Therese Karlsson1 , Mia Johansson2

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