"As God is my witness. What is said, what is silenced in informal cancer caregivers´ narratives".

LUXARDO N.

Anthropologies of Cancer in Transnational Worlds

Routledge

Lugar: New York; Año: 2014;

As many scholars have already noticed, a dying relative -being cared at home- has an enormous impact on his/her family members´ situation, including consequences on previous roles, physical and psychological well-being and health, social relationships, personal routines, among others. The aim of this study is to identify and characterize the ways informal carers of a dying relative -in palliative but also in hospice home care- experienced and perceived their ?caring role situation?, assistance and support during the patient´s final stage illness and even some time after the death. This paper will explicitly and deliberately focus on the dark side of caregiving. It´s not a bias to the negative issues of the role ignoring that there may also exists people who find this kind of temporary work rewarding. We know that positive aspects are also part of what caregiving is, for some people and under some circumstances. As literature has shown standing out the increase of rewarding, deep connection and self-esteem ?among other feelings? that might be also involved in caring (Nolan, 2001).  However, in this occasion, what is defined as the area of inquiry will be that negative, energy consuming and psycho tag label ?burning out? perspectives of caregivers. This doesn´t mean to assume a pathological model that is usually used to explain the burden of care from a psychological perspective with the accent on the individual and their ability to cope with the particular circumstances.