Management of common clinical problems experienced by survivors of cancer

Emery, Jon; Butow, Phyllis; Lai-Kwon, Julia; Nekhlyudov, Larissa; Rynderman, Meg; Jefford, Michael

doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(22)00242-2

Cited by 132 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…We also encourage clinicians to provide space for further disclosure. Emery et al have recently published a paper on the management of common clinical problems experienced by cancer survivors [ 32 ]. The authors provide examples of ways to initiate conversations about specific problems (e.g., to initiate a conversation about sexuality and intimacy, a clinician could ask; “do you have any concerns about your sex life or sexual function and are these concerns causing you distress?”).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing colon cancer patients’ needs during follow-up consultations at the outpatient clinic: a multicenter qualitative observational study

Vos

Duineveld

Miltenburg

et al. 2022

Support Care Cancer

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Purpose To describe colon cancer patients’ needs and how healthcare providers respond to these needs during routine follow-up consultations in hospital. Methods A multicenter qualitative observational study, consisting of follow-up consultations by surgeons and specialized oncology nurses. Consultations were analyzed according to Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences. Patients’ questions, cues, and concerns were derived from the data and categorized into supportive care domains. Responses of healthcare providers were defined as providing or reducing space for disclosure. Patient satisfaction with care was measured with a short questionnaire. Results Consultations with 30 patients were observed. Questions typically centered around the health system and information domain (i.e., follow-up schedule and test results; 92%). Cues and concerns were mostly associated with the physical and daily living domain (i.e., experiencing symptoms and difficulties resuming daily routine; 43%), followed by health system and information (i.e., miscommunication or lack of clarity about follow-up; 28%), and psychological domain (i.e., fear of recurrence and complications; 28%). Problems in the sexuality domain hardly ever arose (0%). Healthcare providers provided space to talk about half of the cues and concerns (54%). Responses to cancer-related versus unrelated problems were similar. Overall, the patients were satisfied with the information and communication received. Conclusions Colon cancer patients express various needs during consultations. Healthcare providers respond to different types of needs in a similar fashion. We encourage clinicians to discuss all supportive care domains, including sexuality, and provide space for further disclosure. General practitioners are trained to provide holistic care and could play a greater role.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing colon cancer patients’ needs during follow-up consultations at the outpatient clinic: a multicenter qualitative observational study

Vos

Duineveld

Miltenburg

et al. 2022

Support Care Cancer

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“…Some problems or symptoms are specific to certain treatments, such as stool incontinence or arm lymphedema, whereas others may occur in cancer survivors in general, such as fear of progression. Long‐term problems in cancer survivorship are therefore manifold comprising for example, fatigue, depressive symptoms, sleep problems, cognitive impairments, sexual problems, problems regarding body image, pain, physical limitations, peripheral neuropathy, cardiac dysfunction, metabolic syndrome, lymphoedema, osteoporosis, as well as financial, familial or occupational problems 10,13‐15 . Thus, impairments in physical, psychological, cognitive, social as well as sexual functions should be considered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late effects, long‐term problems and unmet needs of cancer survivors

Schmidt

Goldschmidt

Hermann

et al. 2022

Intl Journal of Cancer

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Great efforts are being made in cancer treatment, with impressive improvement in survival. The situation concerning research and care for long-term problems and late effects in the growing population of cancer survivors, however, is unsatisfactory.Therefore, in the FiX survey 1348 disease-free survivors about 4 years after diagnosis of different cancer types were asked to rate existing burdens and support received for them along a list of 36 potential problems. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed with the EORTC QLQ-C30. Determinants of burdens were explored using logistic regression analysis. While cancer survivors' global HRQoL, physical and role function ratings were comparable or better than age-and sex-matched reference values of the general population, emotional and cognitive function was worse, especially among women (P < .01). Most frequently reported problems with at least moderate burden were loss of physical performance (36.3%), fatigue (35.1%), sexual problems (34.7%), sleep problems (34.1%), arthralgia (33.8%), anxiety (28.0%), neuropathy (25.6%), memory problems (23.0%) and concentration problems (21.9%). Burdened survivors often rated received support as poor, especially regarding support for problems that physicians might consider medically nonthreatening, or for which no effective pharmacologic or medical treatment is known. Determinants for burden included higher age, female gender, having ever received chemotherapy and overweight/obesity. In conclusion, a significant number of cancer survivors suffer from long-term or late effects and have unmet care needs.Awareness of health care professionals should be increased for these issues. The results of our study can contribute to the development of targeted survivorship plans.

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“…Common survival problems reported by post-treatment cancer survivors include fatigue, pain, impaired body image and dysfunction (eg., hair loss and endocrine dysfunction), fear of disease recurrence, sleep disturbance, and uncertainty about returning to work. 3 , 5 Additionally, cancer survivors are at risk of permanent (eg., infertility) and late treatment effects (eg., organ dysfunction and secondary cancers). 6 As a result of these survival problems, cancer survivors may experience impaired physical, psychological, and social functioning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 2 Furthermore, medical teams are usually less involved in post-treatment survivorship, resulting in unmet needs for supportive care involving health information, and physical, and psychosocial support for survivors. 2 , 5 , 7 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%