Preparedness and Cancer-Related Symptom Management among Cancer Survivors in the First Year Post-Treatment

Corinne R. Leach, Alyssa N. Troeschel, Dawn Wiatrek, Annette L. Stanton, Michael Diefenbach, Kevin D. Stein, Katherine Sharpe, Kenneth Portier

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Many cancer survivors feel unprepared for the physical and psychosocial challenges that accompany the post-treatment care transition (i.e., re-entry phase), including management of cancer-related symptoms. Few studies have investigated personal and contextual factors associated with the extent of preparedness for re-entry or how they are related to cancer-related symptom management. Purpose: Data from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Survivor Transition Study examined (1) characteristics of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors (n = 1188) within the first year of completing treatment who are most and least prepared for re-entry; and (2) how preparedness level and other characteristics are related to cancer-related symptom management. Methods: Stanton and colleagues’ [1] conceptual model of survivorship guided the selection of interpersonal/environmental, individual, and disease/treatment-related characteristics as potential contributors to levels of preparedness and cancer-related symptom management using regression tree and multivariate linear regression analyses. Results: Survivors, on average, felt moderately prepared for the transition to post-treatment care. Lowest levels of preparedness were found among survivors with relatively high depressive symptoms, low perceived quality of oncology-provided survivorship care, and limited discussion about potential side effects with a health professional. Poorer symptom management was associated with younger age, having more comorbid conditions, and lower preparedness, social support, and spirituality. Conclusion: Survivors who feel unprepared for the transition to post-treatment care report poorer cancer-related symptom management. Identification of factors associated with low perceived preparedness and poor cancer-related symptom management will assist in risk stratification and development of tailored interventions to meet the needs of cancer survivors during re-entry.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)587-598
Number of pages12
JournalAnnals of Behavioral Medicine
Volume51
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cancer survivor
  • Patient-reported outcomes
  • Preparedness
  • Symptom management

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