Office of Public Relations – Newsroom
News Release
Study Looks at Effects of Cancer on Patients' Family and Friends
DENVER (September 29, 2004) — A new study at the University of Colorado Denver will investigate the psychological and physiological effects of caring for a cancer patient. The study is a joint effort by researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the CU-Health Sciences Center Department of Psychiatry, and is funded by the National Institute for Aging and National Cancer Institute.
Psycho-Oncologist Kimberly Roper, MA, PhD, assistant professor in medical oncology, and co-investigator Mark Laudenslager, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Behavioral Immunology Laboratory, will look for changes in cortisol, a biological indicator of stress, and other factors that affect immunity, mood and quality of life.
Family caregivers represent a significant portion of the general population. The 1997 National Survey in the United States estimated that there were between 24 to 27.6 million adults providing care to a family member or friend with a chronic, disabling, or terminal illness and reporting a high level of stress.
Early studies provide some evidence that caregivers of cancer or chronically ill patients experience significant distress and negative impact on their quality of life. There is very little research, however, that has examined the effect of caring for a cancer patient over time. Growing awareness of the burden of being a caregiver is evidenced by the launching of a Co-Survivor program this year by the Susan G. Komen Foundation to recognize the individuals who support breast cancer patients.
"This study will be the first to examine the challenges and benefits of caring for a cancer patient over time," Roper said. "We know a cancer diagnosis affects everyone who loves and cares for the patient, but we don't know to what degree - or what would be helpful to the family and friends."
Roper continued, "by studying the impact of caregiving over time, we will learn what types of interventions may be helpful and when."
Understanding the physical effects of caregiving may assist clinicians in identifying caregivers who may be at higher risk for opportunistic infections and guide psychosocial and medical interventions.
"Today's healthcare environment places a lot of responsibility on family and friends to provide patient care," Laudenslager said. "Keeping the caregiver physically healthy to care for the cancer patient would seem an important priority." Laudenslager is also studying variations in stress hormones and response to vaccines in various populations to discover the effects of certain external factors like trauma, depression in the elderly and a mother's touch.
Those seeking more information or interested in joining the study should call the Cancer Co-Survivor Network at 303-724-4344.
The University of Colorado Denver is one of three campuses in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver and Aurora, Colo., the center includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry, a graduate school and a teaching hospital. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uchsc.edu.
The University of Colorado Cancer Center, located in Denver and Aurora at the University of Colorado Denver, is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the Rocky Mountain region. Its four-part mission is excellence in cancer treatment, research, education and prevention. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uccc.info.