Trapped in a double cage: How patients’ partners experience the diagnosis of advanced cancer in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

Background: When confronting a partner’s diagnosis of advanced cancer, family caregivers are often protected against severe psychological illness by their mental resilience. However, the current COVID-19 pandemic endangers this resilience through the daily threat of contagion exposure, viral transmission, isolation, and fear of death. Aim: To examine the experiences of partners caring for a person with advanced cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting: Twelve partners (all under the age of 65) of persons newly diagnosed with advanced cancer immediately before or during the pandemic were interviewed. An interpretative phenomenological approach was used in analyzing the data. Findings: Partners experience the COVID-19 pandemic as “living in a double cage.” Due to pandemic mandates and restrictions, the pace of their lives slows. However, COVID-19 does not slow the progression of the cancer, nor does it allow for an escape from the cancer. The pandemic has a significant impact on several elements of resilience. Nevertheless, the participants succeed in adapting and coping in a balanced and creative way despite the new challenges imposed by the pandemic. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic challenges one’s resilience, a process that, under normal circumstances, may evolve while caring for a partner diagnosed with advanced cancer. Although most partners seem to cope adaptively with both advanced cancer and COVID-19, healthcare professionals should be aware of the risk of exhaustion. Furthermore, it can be presupposed that threatened, contextual factors that may support resilience should be preserved to increase the chances for a resilient outcome.