Cancer-related health worries and psychological distress among older adult, long-term cancer survivors.
Psychooncology
; 15(4): 306-20, 2006 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-16041841
ABSTRACT
While long-term survivors (5 years+) do not face the stressors of diagnosis and treatment, they continue to face the uncertainties that survivorship brings recurrence, other cancers, late effects of treatment, and the potential of a shortened life expectancy. This research focuses on the cancer-related health worries of older adult, long-term cancer survivors, the factors that predict these worries, and their link to traditional measures of psychological distress. Specifically, a model is proposed that identifies the personal (including race and gender) and illness/treatment characteristics of survivors that are significantly associated with cancer-related health worries and their effects on anxiety and depression. Descriptive and multivariate analyses of a random sample of 321 long-term survivors in a major cancer center tumor registry are used to address these issues. About one-third of survivors continue to report worries about recurrence, worries about a second cancer, and worries that symptoms they experience may be from cancer. The regression analyses show that cancer-related health worries is a significant predictor of both depression (beta=0.36) and anxiety (beta=0.21). Race is a significant predictor; being African American is related to fewer cancer-related health worries (beta=-0.22). Having more symptoms during treatment is also a predictor of having more cancer-related health worries (beta=0.20). The most consistent predictor of psychosocial distress is dispositional optimism/pessimism, with more optimistic individuals reporting fewer cancer-related health worries (beta=-0.27), lower levels of both anxiety (beta=-0.16) and depression (beta=-0.23). Overall, for many older adult, long-term survivors, the legacy of cancer continues in terms of cancer-related health worries. In spite of these, for most survivors, their quality of life is not dramatically compromised either physically or psychologically.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transtornos de Estresse Pós-Traumáticos
/
Atitude Frente a Saúde
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Sobreviventes
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Neoplasias
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prevalence_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2006
Tipo de documento:
Article