Bringing Attention to the Challenges of Caring for Those with Blood Cancer & Finding Solutions
to Ease the Emotional Toll on Caregivers & Patients
Celebrated every November, National Family Caregivers Month is a time to recognize and honor caregivers across the US. In a study by the National Alliance for Caregiving, about 50% of 111 cancer caregivers reported feeling “highly stressed” due to the intense and demanding nature of caregiving, and there is growing evidence this could potentially affect the mental health of the patients as well.1,2
In particular, the mental health of patients with blood cancer, including those living with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and their caregivers, can be impacted due to the physical, emotional and social effects of the disease.3,4
CLL is the most common leukemia in adults.5 It’s a type of cancer that starts in cells that become certain white blood cells (called lymphocytes) in the bone marrow. 5 The cancer (leukemia) cells start in the bone marrow but then go into the blood.5
As with other illnesses, COVID-19 has exacerbated the mental health impact of blood cancer on patients, as well as placing an added strain on caregivers. In a recent survey of 100 patients with blood cancer, 96% of patients reported their blood cancer has impacted their mental health since the start of the pandemic in 2020, and 72% of patients said they rely most on their family members to provide them with emotional support for their blood cancer.
Hematologist and oncologist Dr. Ken Miller of Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, who will discuss the impact of blood cancer, including CLL, on the mental and emotional health of both patients and caregivers, and share resources to help meet this important need.
http://understandbloodcancer.com/
This program is made possible by AstraZeneca.
Dr. Ken Miller is a hematologist and medical oncologist at the Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Miller has served as the Director of Outpatient Oncology and was a member of the Thoracic Oncology Group at the University of Maryland. He also previously served as the Director of the Yale Cancer Center’s survivorship clinic and the Director of the LiveStrong Survivorship Center of Excellence at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He has authored five books, including: Choices in Breast Cancer, Medical and Psychosocial Care of the Cancer Survivor, Excellent Care of Cancer Survivors, Global Cancer Care, and “The Breast Cancer Book”. Dr. Miller’s wife Joan is a two-time cancer survivor and together they have lectured nationally and internationally on the role of empathy in medicine. They have three children and four grandchildren.
