Psychological impact of cancer diagnosis on siblings often 'forgotten' - study 

For the study, DCU researchers interviewed people aged between 20 and 65 who had brothers or sisters living with the diagnosis, or who were deceased. File Picture: iStock

The grieving process of those whose sibling is diagnosed with or dies from cancer is often treated as less important or forgotten entirely compared to the children and parents of the patient, a new study by Dublin City University has found.  

The researchers found that a lot of attention has been paid to the psychological impact on the parents and children of those diagnosed compared to their brothers or sisters.

The team from DCU's School of Psychology interviewed a group of people, aged between 20 and 65, who had brothers or sisters either living with the diagnosis, or who had passed away.

Those who took part said they often felt as though their own grieving process was treated as less important than other immediate family members, others reported that their grief was forgotten entirely. The research, conducted by Ms Hazel Burke and Dr Simon Dunne, is the first of its kind.

“Sibling relationships are one of the longest and most significant that people experience across their lifespan, and we wanted to fill a gap in the research into the impact of cancer on adult siblings,” said Dr Dunne, who lost his brother-in-law to cancer.

Dr Dunne said that though diagnoses of cancer have started to be considered as traumatic events which affect whole families, many of those he and his colleague spoke to felt they had very limited options in terms of support.

“There are cancer organisations that offer support for siblings,” he said. “Yet, the fact that many of the people we interviewed felt that nothing was available for them means a lot more needs to be done by cancer groups to signpost what’s available for siblings.”

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Ms Burke said the study highlights the way in which siblings are overlooked when it comes to a family cancer diagnosis. 

“This research can enable cancer support organisations to recognize gaps in their services for siblings, and to allow siblings to feel that their grief, emotions and experiences are valid, and that they are not alone," she said.

The study, titled: '“You nearly feel a little bit like you’ve less right to grieve”: a qualitative study on the impact of cancer on adult siblings', has been published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship. 

You can read the study here.