Care, Solidarity, and Belonging in Older Migrants’ Cancer Trajectories

Older migrants face various challenges in their cancer trajectories where low socio-economic status, limited education, and language barriers generate different kinds of vulnerabilities. Their relatives, particularly their children, often play a crucial role in providing essential support and compensating for the vulnerabilities that emerge. They assist in facilitating communication with healthcare providers, actively participate in the care and treatment process, try to navigate within the welfare system, and uphold family cultural norms and role expectations in difficult and uncertain times.
Overall, this paper underscores the significance of care and solidarity in older migrants’ cancer trajectories. It describes the vital role played by family members, in supporting and advocating for the well-being of the older migrant threatened by critical illness.
Through interviews conducted with older migrants who have cancer and their relatives, the study unfolds the joint efforts to maintain older migrants’ sense of belonging within the family and within the welfare state and reaffirm their significant family position as well as rightful citizenship.