1. Introduction
death, anxiety, fatigue, cancer, depression, Cancer
DISEASE, CANCER, ADVANCED CANCER, CANCER
The experience of caregiver burden among family members of patients with advanced cancer is a common problem. The aim of this study was to determine whether the burden may be alleviated by means of a therapeutic approach based on self-chosen music. This randomised controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04052074. Registered 9 August 2019) included 82 family caregivers of patients receiving home palliative care for advanced cancer. The intervention group (Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide. Cancer patients survive longer thanks to the development of modern medicine, especially thanks to the improvements in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care. Thus, patients with advanced cancer often need palliative care, and the length of the caregiving period has extended. In addition, the symptoms of advanced cancer usually worsen as the disease progresses [Despite the benefits of home care in terms of cost-saving and convenience, family caregivers may be affected by numerous problems, including anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep problems, and reduced quality of life [Family caregivers of cancer patients receiving home palliative care usually spend a large part of their day providing accompaniment, care, and attention for long periods. The effects of burden are often heightened during the caregiving process [It is well recognized that caregiving can adversely affect psychological well-being as well as increase caregiver burden. Increased burden and psychological morbidity have been documented. In view of these considerations, interventions are needed to alleviate the burden experienced by caregivers of patients with advanced cancer [In this respect, complementary therapies, i.e., practices that are not generally considered part of regular treatment in medicine, can be of benefit to the caregiver [In the view that this approach might alleviate burden by enhancing the caregiver’s emotional health, more studies focused on the use of music are needed to ensure the well-being of caregivers of cancer patients. Music is being used as a more prominent treatment in the clinical field, reducing burden and improving mood states. Interventions in music medicine have been defined as those sessions in which health professionals offer pre-recorded music for passive listening [The use of music intervention is still relatively novel, and there is a need to investigate its potential therapeutic use. To our knowledge, few clinical trials have been conducted to analyse the effect of music complementary therapy on the well-being of caregivers of patients with advanced cancer, and the published results are inconsistent [