Abstract 2169
Background
Cancer patients and their caregivers are expected to take joint responsibility with regard to reporting symptoms and seeking medical assistance e.g. by calling oncology emergency telephones or other helplines during their cancer trajectory. This responsibility may pose additional burdens on patients and caregivers when they are at home with symptoms that can be potential life threatening. Furthermore, in this vulnerable situation, the ability to handle the responsibility is compromised, which may influence safeguarding fundamentals of care needs. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the meaning of responsibility as it appeared in patients or caregivers calls to an oncology emergency telephone.
Methods
Qualitative description and qualitative content analysis guided a secondary analysis and interpretation of data from interviews with 12 participants calling an oncology emergency telephone.
Results
The analysis revealed two main themes. 1). To act responsibly as patient or caregivers was elaborated by: ‘Being watchful and alert’, ‘Reporting the symptoms’, and ‘Cross checking’. 2). To deal with the burden of responsibility was elaborated by the sub-themes: ‘Feeling safe in dealing with the burden of responsibility’, and ‘Being relieved from the burden of responsibility’.
Conclusions
Conclusion: The study provided essential knowledge on how patients and caregivers handle responsibility in their everyday living with a cancer disease, treated on an outpatient basis. The meaning of responsibility appeared in the informants’ capacity to act where they displayed responsibility to observe, assess and report symptoms and control prescribed treatment as well as to share or hand over the responsibility to the healthcare providers. Easing the burden of responsibility requires a person-centered approach that integrates physical, psychosocial and relational needs and bridge a potential imbalance between healthcare providers’ expectations and the patients’ or caregivers knowledge and capacity to act. For this to succeed, establishing a caring relationship between HCPs, patients and caregivers is essential.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
Birgith Pedersen.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
2262 - Real world experience of Nivolumab therapy in Metastatic Renal Cancer patients: a 3 year multi-centre review
Presenter: Joanna Hack
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
4441 - “A pilot study of tremelimumab (treme) with or without cryoablation (cryo) in patients (pts) in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).”
Presenter: Matthew Campbell
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
2613 - Lenvatinib (Len) alone or in combination with Everolimus (Eve) in heavily pretreated patients (pts) with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) after immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and VEGFR-targeted therapies: A single-institution experience
Presenter: Andrew Wiele
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
3249 - Weight loss is an underestimated adverse event with cabozantinib in patients with metastastic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).
Presenter: Emeline Colomba
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
2405 - Impact of corticosteroids on nivolumab activity in metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
Presenter: Felix Lefort
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
4020 - Skeletal muscle loss as an adverse event during Cabozantinib treatment in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma
Presenter: Carolina Alves Costa Silva
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
2407 - Long term relative survival (RS) in patients with primary metastatic kidney cancer (primary mRCC): an analysis of 2,167 patients from the Austrian National Cancer Registry (ANCR).
Presenter: Monika Hackl
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
2470 - Advanced renal cell carcinoma: first results from the prospective research platform CARAT for patients with mRCC in Germany
Presenter: Peter Goebell
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
1533 - Are immune checkpoint inhibitors a valid option for papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma? Transcriptomic characterization of the immune infiltrate
Presenter: Manon De Vries-brilland
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract
3367 - Treatment-Free Survival, With and Without Toxicity, as a Novel Outcome Applied to Immuno-Oncology Agents in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
Presenter: Meredith Regan
Session: Poster Display session 3
Resources:
Abstract