To live close to a person with cancer--experiences of family caregivers.

The purpose of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding of the experiences of Family Caregivers (FC) living close to a patient with cancer. This article reports on the findings from individual interviews with 15 FCs of patients with cancer. The interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative hermeneutic analysis. This study revealed that living close to a cancer patient over the course of his or her illness affected many aspects of FCs lives in significant ways. Their experiences can be summarized with two major themes: (1) living in an ever changing life world and (2) balancing between conflicting interests and dilemmas. This study contributed to deeper insights into FC's experiences than previously reported in the literature.