Well-Being of Cancer Survivors

Abstract

One hundred and four cancer survivors 3 years past their last cancer treatment reported a significantly lower sense of self-control and more general health worries than a matched sample of healthy controls. The two groups did not differ on variables of anxiety, depression, positive well being, and vitality or on two composite scores of mental and general well-being. The well-being scores of the survivors from three geographically distinct cancer centers revealed no significant differences among centers on the composite or any of the individual subscores. Sociodemographic and treatment variables revealed only marriage and no change in job were significantly related to the amount of general well-being experienced.

Persistent psychological distress in long-term survivors of pediatric sarcoma: the experience at a single institution

“…The risk of psychological/ psychiatric illness remains unclear however, as investigations designed to examine psychological outcomes in long-term survivors of childhood cancer have produced inconsistent, and at times conflicting findings Kokkonen et al, 1997;Teta et al, 1986). Several studies suggest that childhood cancer survivors are at increased risk for maladaptive psychosocial sequalae (Koocher and O'Malley, 1981) including depression (Fritz et al, 1988;Mulhern et al, 1989), behavioral adjustment problems (Moore et al, 1987;Fritz et al, 1988;Mulhern et al, 1989;Madan-Swain and Brown, 1991), and anxiety (Zebrack and Chesler, 2002;Pendley et al, 1997;Neff and Beardslee, 1990), while others report that a significant portion of childhood cancer survivors have no higher prevalence of anxiety (Schmale et al, 1983), depression (Greenberg et al, 1989;Ross et al, 2003), overall mood disorder (Gray et al, 1992), or lowered self-concept (Anholt et al, 1993) when compared with population norms or matched controls. Moreover, a number of studies suggest that childhood cancer survivors are well-or better-adjusted compared to normative groups (Fritz et al, 1988;Barakat et al, 1997;Kazak, 1998;Cella and Tross, 1986;Kupst et al, 1995;Chesler and Zebrack, 1997).…”

Long-term psychological adjustment of acute leukemia survivors: impact of bone marrow transplantation versus conventional chemotherapy.

“…Following the seminal work of Koocher and O'Malley (12) with childhood cancer survivors, the prevalence and intensity of these psychosocial sequelae have recently been studied in several adult cancer survivor populations (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). This burgeoning area of research has documented that many, but not all, cancer survivors are prone to post-treatment difficulties in psychological, vocational, interpersonal, and familial adjustment.…”

Anxiety, Depression and Worry in Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients Attending Medical Follow-Up Control Visits

“…Thus, results from studies of psychosocial distress performed in connection with the diagnosis of cancer, during treatment and the follow-up period show a wide variation in rates of occurrence. In two studies, psychological distress has been reported to decline during the first year after treatment (14,IS), but other studies have reported residual psychological distress in cancer patients in certain respects (e.g., lower sense of self-control, more general health worries) long time after treatment and that many patients who survive cancer do not return to a state of 'normal' health (14,16,17). In other respects (e.g.…”

“…In other respects (e.g. anxiety, depression), few detectable differences between cancer patients 3 years after their last cancer treatment and normal controls are formed (17).…”