When a patient has an advanced disease, considerable demands are placed on the whole family. Whilst coping with their own profound emotions, close relatives commonly have to support their loved ones through a range of treatments as the disease progresses through stages of remission and recurrence, until finally, a shift to a palliative mode of treatment must be faced. In such situations, family roles and relationships are likely to be disrupted and family members? coping resources can be stretched to the limit. It is clear from this that by the time the terminal stage of the patient's illness is reached, the family may have travelled a