Domino effect: How cancer diagnosis affects family members

Psychological and cardio illnesses appear to be happening more often in people who have a loved one undergoing cancer treatment, according to new research. — CHRISTIN KLOSE/dpa

IT GOES without saying that a cancer diagnosis is traumatic and life-changing for the patient: the debilitating rounds of chemotherapy, the worry that metastasis will cripple vital organs, and, behind it all, the spectre of premature death.

But a cancer case in the family not only affects the person diagnosed, it adds to “risks of developing psychological and cardiovascular illnesses” among spouses, siblings, children and parents, with parents of children with cancer the most likely to suffer knock-on effects on their own health.