Parents of Emerging Adults with Cancer
February 19, 2015
By: Lisa Fisher
When someone is diagnosed with a chronic illness, the focus tends to be on that individual rather than on those who surround and support her/him. I have been fortunate enough not to have had family members diagnosed with cancer, and I have only known a few friends of the family who have navigated that road. Through my interactions with them, I have begun to understand that relationships are often altered when people are faced with a cancer diagnosis, and that the people who support cancer patients are not always supported themselves. In my current position with Breast Cancer Action Nova Scotia, I can see that our organization is being under-utilized by support persons since they view us as existing for only the patient. In reality, we exist for anyone who is affected by breast cancer.
I graduated from a psychology honours undergraduate degree in May 2012 and I have an incredible passion for mental health, psychosocial influences, and relationship interactions. In 2013 I chose to enrol in the Master of Arts program in Health Promotion at Dalhousie University, because I wanted to engage in primary, rather than tertiary, prevention. In short, I wanted to reduce risks and prevent problems from happening instead of trying to fix something that was already broken.
My previous research in my undergraduate career focused on emerging adults: those between the ages of 18 and 25. While reviewing the literature on cancer and the parents of cancer patients, I realized that there has been very little research on cancer in emerging adults, and no research that looks at the parents of emerging adults with cancer. Most existing research examines parents of pediatric cancer patients, and there is some research on parents of adolescents. Emerging adults are distinguishable from adolescents and young adults (AYA) by five main socio-emotional features: identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, and possibilities. Within this area where research is lacking, I decided to explore a topic of interest to me: psychosocial challenges.
The term psychosocial refers to anything that relates to psychological development when considered within the context of one’s social environment. In my current study, I am looking at the ways in which parents are affected mentally, socially, and emotionally by the experience of having their emerging adult child diagnosed with cancer. I want to know what parents are dealing with and how they believe they could best be supported, in order to create health-promoting initiatives and support systems specifically for this population.
I am currently in the recruitment stage of my research and I am looking for parents of emerging adults with cancer who are interested in participating in an online discussion forum. Parents will be asked to answer questions about their experience and to engage in conversations with others in similar situations.
Eligible participants must be (1) current residents of Canada, (2) English speaking, and (3) have a child who received a first diagnosis of cancer between the ages of 18 and 25.
For more information, please feel free to contact me at cancer@dal.ca.
