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Background: Perceived social support gained from different sources offers practical help to cancer patients and plays a key role in decreasing their physical and psychological distress. This review aims to provide a comprehensive picture regarding the role of perceived social support in the life of cancer patients and its importance in palliative care. Method: We searched PubMed, Medline, Hinari, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science for original articles and review articles focused on perceived social support among cancer patients published up to October 2024. Result: Perceived support found to be closely linked with physical and psychological factors. Higher level of perceived social support protects patients against the negative impact of the stressor and symptoms (fatigue, pain, insomnia, weight changes, changes in body image and side effects from chemotherapy) associated with cancer. It also plays an important role in lowering anxiety and depression, as well as improving quality of life of cancer patients. There are several ways to deliver social support intervention to these patients. Patients attending palliative care centers and receiving home care can benefit highly from higher levels of perceived social support. Conclusion: It is important to assess the social support perceived by cancer patients from their surroundings and offer appropriate social interventions to alleviate their distress and improve their quality of life.
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Biswas et al. (2025) studied this question.
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