The psychosocial impact of cervical cancer among affected women and their partners

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the range and intensity of psychosocial concerns experienced by women with cervical cancer and their male partners. A cross-sectional survey assessed 26 couples where the woman had invasive cervical cancer stage I-IV, up to 2 years posttreatment, using a concerns questionnaire and widely used psychosocial questionnaires. Respondents indicated their concerns about the impact of the disease and treatment as well as general psychosocial impact. Women with cervical cancer and their male partners expressed equal intensities of concern regarding the illness and its treatment, rating sexuality, prognosis, and communication with the treatment team most highly in terms of current concerns. Couples where the patient had a more advanced stage of cancer expressed higher concerns than those with earlier stage disease. Although women with cervical cancer reported more fatigue and illness intrusiveness than their male partners, both experienced disruptions in relationships, intimacy, and instrumental life domains. With increased time posttreatment, concerns differed subtly between affected women and their male partners. Effective psychosocial support for cervical cancer must be provided for both the affected woman and her male partner. Support and information should address the most salient concerns of patients and partners as these evolve over significant clinical milestones.

Quality of life of cervical cancer patient with support from nuclear family and extended family in Dr. Sardjito general hospital, Yogyakarta Indonesia: a comparative study

“…They state that the low quality of life is significantly related to low social support. [9][10][11] The main provider of social support that could influence patient psychological adjustment is family. 12,13 In symptom scale, item financial problem had the highest mean that was larger than 50.…”

Intimacy and relationship processes in couples' psychosocial adaptation to cancer

“…2,3 However, over the last 20 years, researchers and clinicians working in oncology have recognized the importance of viewing cancer in the family context. This realization has lead to a burgeoning literature assessing and comparing patient and partner distress levels 3,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] as well as sex differences in distress. [43][44][45][46][47] With a few exceptions, 32 these studies suggest that patients report higher levels of clinically relevant distress than partners 3 and that women who are patients and partners report higher levels of distress than men who are patients and partners.…”

Calidad de vida en mujeres con cáncer cérvico-uterino, Cartagena (Colombia), 2012

“…De igual forma, otros autores (9,22,23) han descrito que en mujeres con diagnóstico de cáncer de cérvix, los cambios de apariencia, la pérdida de peso y la evidencia de los efectos de tratamientos como la radioterapia, significan un factor importante para la percepción negativa de su calidad de vida en cuanto a la dimensión psicológica, y las predisponen a una percepción más negativa de su belleza y feminidad (10).…”