Active Consideration: Conceptualizing Patient-Provided Support for Spouse Caregivers in the Context of Prostate Cancer

Abstract

In this study, the authors examine the under-investigated topic of patient-provided support for spouse caregivers. Thirty-four men with prostate cancer and their female partners were interviewed separately three times: before the man’s radical prostatectomy, 8 to 10 weeks postsurgery, and 1 year postsurgery. The core category of active consideration encompassed 4 dimensions: easing spousal burden, keeping us up, maintaining connection, and considering spouse. Patient-provided support entails two overlapping tasks: minimizing the practical and emotional impact of the illness and tending to the caregiver’s social-emotional needs. A theory expounding on the double bind of being both a patient and an agent in light of masculine socialization practices is articulated and brought to bear on the phenomenon of patient-provided support.