Beyond treatment – Psychosocial and behavioural issues in cancer survivorship research and practice

Publication date: June 2014 Source:European Journal of Cancer Supplements, Volume 12, Issue 1 Author(s): Neil K. Aaronson , Vittorio Mattioli , Ollie Minton , Joachim Weis , Christoffer Johansen , Susanne O. Dalton , Irma M. Verdonck-de Leeuw , Kevin D. Stein , Catherine M. Alfano , Anja Mehnert , Angela de Boer , Lonneke V. van de Poll-Franse The population of cancer survivors has grown steadily over the past several decades. Surviving cancer, however, is not synonymous with a life free of problems related to the disease and its treatment. In this paper we provide a brief overview of selected physical and psychosocial health problems prevalent among cancer survivors, namely pain, fatigue, psychological distress and work participation. We also address issues surrounding self-management and e-Health interventions for cancer survivors, and programmes to encourage survivors to adopt healthier lifestyles. Finally, we discuss approaches to assessing health-related quality of life in cancer survivors, and the use of cancer registries in conducting psychosocial survivorship research. We highlight research and practice priorities in each of these areas. While the priorities vary per topic, common themes that emerged included: (1) Symptoms should not be viewed in isolation, but rather as part of a cluster of interrelated symptoms. This has implications for both understanding the aetiology of symptoms and for their treatment; (2) Psychosocial interventions need to be ev...
Source: European Journal of Cancer Supplements - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research