Young cancer survivors’ expectations of physicians for issues of mental health, interpersonal relationships, and reintegration to society.

Authors

null

Ying Wang

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Ying Wang , Pierre Camateros , Winson Y. Cheung

Organizations

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Research Funding

No funding sources reported

Background: As patients transition from cancer treatment to survivorship, issues surrounding the social and mental health impacts of survivorship gain increased importance. In this study, we examined young cancer survivors’ expectations of their physicians with respect to mental health, interpersonal relationships, and reintegration back to work and school. We also explored factors associated with these expectations. Methods: We surveyed patients aged 20 to 39 years who were diagnosed with solid tumors, evaluated at any 1 of 5 regional cancer centers in British Columbia, and alive at 2 or more years after their diagnosis. We explored the relationship between patient factors and expectations, adjusting for confounders through the use of multivariate regression models. Results: With a survey response rate of 57%, a total of 447 patients were analyzed: median age was 35 years (IQR 31-38), 30% were men, and 89% had ECOG 0. Tumor sites included breast (222; 50%), testicular (126; 28%), gynecological (76; 17%), and colorectal (23; 5%). Decreasing levels of expectations of cancer specialist (CS) were seen with 72%, 48%, and 28% of patients indicating that their CS should have some to full responsibility on issues related to mental health, social counselling, and reintegration, respectively. Compared to CS, patients held much higher expectations of their primary care physician (PCP) taking some to full responsibility for these same issues (see Table). Expectations of their PCP were further increased when there was frequent contact between patient and PCP. Conclusions: The majority of young cancer survivors in our survey expected their PCP more than their CS to have a significant degree of responsibility for mental, interpersonal, and social issues arising from their cancer or treatment. Early integration of PCP into survivorship care models may augment the work provided by the psychosocial cancer team and ease the transition to survivorship for patients.

Expectation for some to full responsibilityCSPCPIncreased patient expectations of PCP with more clinic visits
Mental health issues72%87%P=0.02
Interpersonal relationships48%73%P=0.03
Reintegration28%53%P=0.007

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2016 Cancer Survivorship Symposium

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Poster Session B

Track

Care Coordination and Financial Implications,Communication,Late- and Long-term Effects/Comorbidities,Health Promotion,Psychosocial Issues,Recurrence and Secondary Malignancies

Sub Track

Psychological and Social Well-being

Citation

J Clin Oncol 34, 2016 (suppl 3S; abstr 208)

DOI

10.1200/jco.2016.34.3_suppl.208

Abstract #

208

Poster Bd #

L2

Abstract Disclosures

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