Published May 25, 2020

Coping With a Sibling’s Cancer Diagnosis: How COVID-19 Affects the Siblings of Cancer Patients

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Family support is important during cancer diagnosis but that support is complicated once a pandemic enters the equation.

"Then having a global pandemic hit where you can’t touch, hug or be in close contact with someone you love with cancer is surreal," says an Instagrammer, who goes by "Stace," on a post about how COVID-19 has affected her dynamic with her brother. She posted pictures of her brother, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and his wife.

During the time of COVID-19, people with cancer are isolated from their loved ones for safety purposes but we do not consider how the loved ones of these cancer patients are also impacted by this isolation. Stace writes in her post that having a sibling diagnosed with cancer already impacts one deeply, as it provokes emotions of frustration and helplessness. However, with a pandemic these feelings are heightened alongside the presence of new emotions like guilt.

"One day I hugged them goodbye, the next day government mandated quarantine; the end destination with no date," says Stace in her post. Now, sitting in quarantine and unable to hold her brother or physically see him, Stace regrets not holding him closer or making a greater effort to see him. However, she finds comfort in the "collective surrealism" of it all, acknowledging that she is not the only one experiencing this.

As Stace awaits seeing her brother again, other siblings reunite for what they fear is the last time ever. Christine Archer, a retired nurse living in New Zealand, wanted to reunite with her sister, Gail Baker, who was diagnosed with incurable ovarian cancer in late March. Archer was initially not allowed to travel because of travel bans put in place due to COVID-19. Archer was eventually approved for travel but had to complete a mandatory quarantine after international travel so she did so in a hotel in Sydney. Family members then drove her from Sydney to her sister's home in New South Wales.

Siblings Show Support in Different Ways

"You don't know what to do when you're on the other side, when you're the caregiver. What should I do? What shouldn't I do? My best advice around that is just to be there, just to listen, to hug and to hold, and cry together," said Charlotte ovarian cancer survivor Diana Fasion in a previous interview with SurvivorNet. During COVID-19, it is difficult for some family members to do such but for those in the same household, they are trying to show up for their loved ones in different ways.

Some cancer patients might not have their siblings to lean on presently, but others have seen support through actions of people shaving their heads in solidarity with siblings, who are going through chemotherapy.

A woman in New Zealand shaved her head in solidarity with her sister, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and had to undergo treatment alone because of COVID-19 restrictions.

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