Many caregivers of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) report mental health challenges, according to a study published in Blood Advances. Elizabeth K. O’Donnell, MD, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional, multisite study of patients with MM undergoing treatment and their caregivers. A total of 127 caregivers of patients with MM (43 newly diagnosed; 40 receiving two to three lines of therapy; and 44 receiving four or more lines of therapy) were enrolled and completed questionnaires to assess their QOL, psychological distress, and perceptions of prognosis. No difference was observed in caregiver QOL or psychological distress by line of therapy. Overall, 44.1%, 15.8%, and 24.4% had clinically significant anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, respectively. Caregivers reported higher rates of clinically significant anxiety compared with patients with MM, when examined in dyads (44.4% vs 22.5%). Overall, 84.2% the caregivers reported that they had been informed by an oncologist that the patient’s cancer was incurable, but only 50.9% and 53.6% acknowledged that the patient’s cancer was terminal and incurable, respectively.
