Objective This study explores how caregiver relationship quality with family, patient, and patient's health care provider (HCP) is associated with subjective caregiver burden during the early treatment phase for late-stage cancer. Method Burden and relationship quality were assessed in telephone interviews with family caregivers (FCGs) of advanced cancer patients. The five subscales of the Caregiver Reaction Assessment measured burden, while relationships were measured with the Family Relationship Index, the Family Inventory of Needs subscale of met needs, and a scale assessing family discord in cancer communication. Results Multiple linear regression analyses in SPSS (v16) of 420 FCGs showed that higher quality relationship with family was associated with lower burden in FCG abandonment, health, scheduling (p<0.001) and finances (p<0.01). Higher quality relationship with patients' HCPs was associated with lower burden in FCG abandonment (p< 0.05), health, and finances (p<0.001). More discordant communication in patient relationship was associated with lower financial burden (p<0.05). Relationship quality was not associated with caregiver self-esteem. Conclusions Findings demonstrate that caregiver relationship quality with family and with HCP are important factors in understanding caregiver burden during the early treatment phase of late-stage cancer care.

Abstract This paper will attempt to analyze how similar forms of power play are manifested towards the protagonists in both The Bell Jar and “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The aim of the essay is to investigate how power play affects the protagonists’ relations with their caregivers and how it affects their treatments. Thus, the hypothesis is that it is the power play that prevents the protagonists in “The Yellow Wallpaper” and The Bell Jar from recovering from their mental illness, which is confirmed by my analysis. Therefore, the concept of power play will be used in the essay as an instrument of analysis. The hypothesis will be discussed from five main points: obstacles to recovery, caregivers’ role in recovery, patients’ response to treatment, the role of power play, and the negative impact which power play has on recovery. Keywords: Power play, mental illness, treatment, recovery, patient-caregiver relationship, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Sylvia Plath, Reet Sjögren.