[The Physical and Psychological Impacts and Supportive Care Needs of Patients With Cancer Undergoing Immunotherapy and Their Family Caregivers].

ABSTRACT

New, science-based cancer treatments have proliferated in recent years. Immunotherapy provides new hope for prolonging survival in patients with advanced-stage cancers. However, patients with cancer must not only face their disease progression, physical, and psychological symptoms, but also deal with the side effects and efficacy of immunotherapy. Patients with cancer may experience complex emotions such as fear, anxiety, depression, or uncertainty relatively frequently and may have many unmet care needs specific to immunotherapy. However, articles on the physical and psychological impacts and supportive care needs experienced by patients with advanced-stage cancers undergoing immunotherapy and their family caregivers are limited in the literature. Thus, this paper was developed to present (1) a brief introduction to cancer immunotherapy; (2) the physical and psychological impacts experienced by patients with cancer undergoing immunotherapy and their caregivers; (3) the status of the supportive care needs of patients and family caregivers during the immunotherapy process; and (4) an assessment of and intervention to address the supportive care needs of these patients with cancer and their caregivers. We hope this article will help clinical healthcare providers understand the physical and psychological impacts and supportive care needs of advanced patients with cancer and their family caregivers during the immunotherapy process. Furthermore, we suggest that appropriate medical care be provided or developed in the future to improve their quality of life during the immunotherapy process and to enhance clinical practices.