Problems at social re-integration of long-term cancer survivors

Breast cancer survivors’ supportive care needs 2–10 years after diagnosis

“…The absence of ongoing disease does not necessarily imply an absence of cancer related supportive care needs and longer time since diagnosis was not associated with lower needs. Breast cancer survivors did not report impaired QoL, which is consistent with other findings in breast cancer survivors [12,23] and depression rates (5.1%) were consistent with age-adjusted community prevalence rates (5.3%) in Australia [2]. However, anxiety rates (9.4%) were considerably higher than age-adjusted community prevalence rates (5.9%) in Australia [2].…”

“…However, a significant minority of survivors experience a range of ongoing difficulties including depression, anxiety, body image disturbance, social problems, cognitive impairment, sexual difficulties, menopausal symptoms, family dysfunction, fatigue, pain, lymphedema, arm problems, insurance and work problems [12,20,23,51,57,63]. Subgroups of survivors appear particularly vulnerable to specific difficulties [35,42]; for example, women who have received chemotherapy report greater sexual dysfunction [60].…”

Quality of life of testicular cancer survivors and the relationship with sociodemographics, cancer-related variables, and life events

“…This joint burden of unemployment and chronic disease on QoL has not been studied before in TCSs, but its negative effect on well-being has been found in the general population [21]. The relationship between these two variables is understandable when it is considered that chronic diseases can cause impairments in social activities and work, which may lead to lower levels of QoL [16,22,25,32]. If and how the experience with TC relates to these findings cannot be determined on the basis of the available data, but responses to an open question indicate that unemployed TCSs with a chronic disease significantly more often experience a negative impact of TC on their current QoL than their counterparts.…”

Health-related Quality of Life Measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30: Reference Values From a Large Sample of the Swedish Population

“…In a study among relapse-free breast cancer patients interviewed eight years after mastectomy, women who belonged to a higher social class more often felt themselves to be 'cured' and had less cancer-related limitations and restrictions (33). Work-related problems concerning promotional and income prospects have also been reported by long-term cancer survivors from several cancer diagnoses (34,35). Return to work may result in difficulties with employers or co-workers (36) but may also provide beneficial 'colleague networks' and useful relationships (37).…”