Background:

Every year, in Sweden, 250 children and adolescents below 15 years of age are diagnosed with cancer. Over 75% of those diagnosed are cured. Cancer affects not only the child but the whole family. Siblings of the affected child can easily suffer from a lack of attention.

Aim:

This study aimed to illuminate siblings' experiences of living in a family with a child affected by cancer.

Method:

A literature-based study based on nine qualitative studies.

Results:

The result showed that it was important for siblings to have someone close and not be alone, they needed to feel a community. Not to know and not to understand what has happened made them to feel grief, fear, stress and jealousy. Many siblings felt an insecurity because of a feeling of being forgotten, neglected and a feeling of loneliness due to the changes in everyday life.

Conclusion:

Parents to a child with cancer have often prioritized the sick child and the needs of the siblings, are left aside. Because the siblings often get sidelined they feel an insecurity when their everyday living get different. If the siblings get a positive experience from this period of illness, this may lead to a positive experience in life which make it easier to process what was happened.