Cancer and the Family Life Cycle: A Practitioner's Guide

by Theresa A. Veach, Donald R. Nicholas, Marci A. Barton

Overview

This book uses current psychosocial literature in combination with empirical research and clinical accounts of family adaptation to help professionals and families cope with the impact of cancer. It is broad in scope and includes families in any life cycle (i.e. single adults, children, adolescents, and later life). This book, with its solid theoretical foundation, will be especially beneficial to any professional who is helping a family to adapt to cancer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781583910160
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/05/2002
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Theresa A. Veach, Ph.D., obtained her doctorate in counseling psychology from Ball State University. She currently works with individuals and families at St. Joesph Hospital and Health Center in Kokomo, Indiana. She is a consultant for the department of radiation oncology, the Higgins Center for Women's Wellness, the hospital's pain program, St. Joseph at Home Hospice, and the palliative care task force. Donald R. Nicholas, Ph.D., is Professor of Counseling Psychology at Ball State University and serves as Associate Director of Psycho-Oncology at Ball Cancer Center of Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana. He has worked with cancer patients and their families for over 15 years, while also establishing an active research and training program through which over 35 doctoral-level counseling psychology students have received training in psycho-oncology. Marci A. Barton, Ph.D., received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Ball State University. She is currently the Director of the Cancer Patient Support Program at Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, West Virginia. She is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, West Virginia University School Medicine, Charleston Division. Dr. Barton is actively involved in psycho-oncology research and presenting at national conferences.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction and Overview
2. Diagnosis and the Family Life Cycle
3. Treatment and the Family Life Cycle
4. Rehabilitation and the Family Life Cycle: Living in Limbo
5. Survivorship and the Family Life Cycle: The Sword of Damocles
6. Recurrence/Advanced Disease and the Family Life Cycle: Life in the Balance
7. Terminal Illness and the Family Life Cycle: In a Strange Land
Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Becky Stepp, BBA, MEd, BS, M, LMSW (Seton Medical Center)
Description: With the likelihood of three out of four families experiencing some form of cancer in their lifetime, more and more families are in need of assistance in coping with this disease. This book is a much needed practitioner's guide to assisting families through the clinical course of cancer.
Purpose: The authors set out to provide practitioners with a guide for working with cancer patients and their families. As the focus of practice and research shifts from one of coping with loss and bereavement to one of adapting to prolonged life with cancer, this book places emphasis on long-term treatment regimens, treatment side effects, cancer rehabilitation, and survival concerns. Since cancer is not just a disease of the individual, this timely book integrates the current literature on families of adult cancer patients and places it within the rich context of family systems theory.
Audience: The book is written to assist psychologists, marriage and family therapists, counselors, social workers, clergy, oncology nurses, and all other professionals who are helping to facilitate the family's adaptation to cancer. Although this is a book about adult cancer and its impact on the family system, much of the information can be applied to families who have children with cancer. As current oncology practitioners, the authors bring a rich background of experience and psycho-oncology research.
Features: The book explores diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, survivorship, recurrence, and the terminal phase of cancer. For each phase, the book addresses concerns specific to families in each of the six stages of the family life cycle. Case studies enrich and illustrate the family systems as they face each stage.
Assessment: This is a much needed addition to the body of knowledge for professionals providing therapeutic assistance to families dealing with cancer. The authors integrate in an organized manner the stages of dealing with cancer and stages of the family life cycle. This book is rich with resources and highly readable.

Doody's Review Service

"Cancer and the Family Life Cycle: A Practitioner's Guide is rich with resources and highly readable. The authors integrate two conceptually useful models—stages of dealing with cancer and stages of the family life cycle—in an exceptionally clear way... This book should be valuable both to experienced clinicians and to students in any discipline helping patients and their families cope with cancer." — Jean L. Kisteller, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Indiana State University
"The book engages and teaches the clinician by tracing the adjustment of several families as they go through the family life cycle with the disease. This device brings the theoretical and technical points to life in a vibrant way. Drs. Veach, Nicholas and Barton have provided a brilliant addition to the libraries of psycho-oncologists which will be appreciated for years to come." — Steven D. Passik, Ph.D., Director, Oncology Symptom Control and Research, Community Cancer Care Inc., and Professor of Psychology, Indiana University School of Medicine
"I highly recommend this book as a reference tool to the health professional who works with families in any phase of the clinical course of cancer." — Robin Baldwin, RN, BSN, National Cancer Institute

From the Publisher

3 Stars from Doody