[Systemic approach to families dealing with cancer diagnosis, its treatment and its prognosis].

This paper reviews and comments the literature related to the problems families have to deal with when cancer occurs, in a psychological and relational perspective. It addresses, among other topics, communication problems and the specific aspects of the different evolutional phases of the disease, and the subsystems of the family. Considering the dramatic effects of cancer within the family and the interdependency of the patient and his family in their adjustment to the disease, we propose that psychological evaluation and support should be offered to the family system as a whole.