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Cited by 128Cancer survivorship and careWomen's cancer prevention and managementChildhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life

Fear of cancer recurrence and unmet needs among breast cancer survivors in the first five years. A cross-sectional study

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Ellegaard, Mai-Britt Bjørklund, Grau, Cai, Zachariae, Robert, Bonde Jensen, Anders·2017·Acta Oncologica
DOI 10.1080/0284186x.2016.1268714
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: It is unclear to which degree the services available after end of treatment are sufficient to meet the needs of women treated for breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to identify patient-reported supportive care needs and the prevalence of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) following end of treatment in women treated for breast cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, women treated for breast cancer (n = 155; mean age 63) completed questionnaires concerning supportive care needs and FCR. Inclusion criteria were: ≥18 years of age and treated for primary breast cancer at Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark and between three months and five years after diagnosis. Associations between demographic characteristics, clinical factors, side effects, late effects and the two dependent variables, unmet needs (examined with linear regression model), and FCR (examined with logistic regression model) were analyzed. RESULTS: The response rate was 79.9%. Almost all (82.6%) women reported at least one unmet need (mean number 9.3; range 0-34). More than half (59.3%) of the unmet needs were rated as strong unmet needs. The most frequent unmet needs were concerned with doctors collaborate to coordinate care; the need for having ongoing dialog with healthcare providers to receive available local health care services, understandable and up-to-date information, to manage side effects and feeling reassured that the best medical care are given. Having unmet needs were associated with young age, short time since primary surgery, and having clinical FCR. FCR was reported by 54.8% of the women and was associated with short time since primary surgery, having chemotherapy, having unmet needs, and moderate to severe muscle and joint pain and fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer survivors experience substantial unmet needs years after end of treatment, particularly among younger women and women having clinical FCR. Furthermore, FCR is frequent among women, particularly when closer in time to primary surgery.

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  • Anxiety, depression, fear of recurrence, fatigue, sleeping problems, and sexual dysfunction are among the most common problems BCSs experience across survivorship and can manifest up to several years after primary treatment completion.

    “Anxiety, depression [5,6], fear of recurrence [7], fatigue [8], sleeping problems [9], and sexual dysfunction [10,11] are among the most common problems BCSs experience across survivorship and can manifest up to several years after primary treatment completion [12].”

    From Development and Evaluation of the Usefulness, Usability, and Feasibility of iNNOV Breast Cancer: Mixed Methods Study (2022) · cites this paper as [7]

    The Abstract (page unavailable) reports fear of cancer recurrence and substantial unmet needs among breast cancer survivors years after treatment, supporting the sentence’s point that problems can persist. It does not establish that every listed problem—including sleeping problems and sexual dysfunction—persists for several years after treatment. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The most prevalent unmet need among breast cancer survivors is related to managing concerns about the cancer coming back.

    “The field of most frequently reported unmet needs was existential issues and the most prevalent unmet need identified in this research was related to managing concerns about the cancer coming back, which is consistent with literature findings focusing on fear of cancer recurrence (Ellegaard et al., 2017).”

    From A guided internet-delivered individually-tailored ACT-influenced cognitive behavioural intervention to improve psychosocial outcomes in breast cancer survivors (iNNOVBC): Study protocol (2019) · cites this paper as Ellegaard et al., 2017

  • Cancer survivors recently discharged from the care of their cancer team and no longer receiving cancer treatment cite a number of unmet needs after completing cancer treatment, including psychosocial and informational support.

    “Cancer survivors recently discharged from the care of their cancer team and no longer receiving cancer treatment cite a number of unmet needs after completing cancer treatment [7–9] (e.g., for psychosocial and informational support [7–10]) and describe the first 6–12 months after treatment as the most difficult [7].”

    From Coping during COVID-19: A mixed methods study of older cancer survivors (2021) · cites this paper as [10]

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1 of the 23 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [5]5. Institute of Medicine. Cancer care for the whole patient: meeting psychosocial concerns. Washington, D.C.: The National Academic Press; 2008.

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Authors
Ellegaard, M.-B. B., Grau, C., Zachariae, R., & Bonde Jensen, A.
Affiliations
  • Aarhus University Hospital (DK)
  • Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark;
Corresponding author
Ellegaard, Mai-Britt Bjørklund
ORCID
Venue
Acta Oncologica
Publisher
MJS Publishing, Medical Journals Sweden AB
Published
2017-01-17
Volume
56
Issue
2
Pages
314-320
ISSN
  • 0284-186X (ISSN-L)
  • 1651-226X
DOI
10.1080/0284186x.2016.1268714
OpenAlex
W2573824460
Cited by
128
References
23
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 5
FWCI
5.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Acta Oncologica (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Women's cancer prevention and management
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life
Keywords
breast cancer survivors, fear of cancer recurrence, unmet needs, supportive care needs, late effects of cancer treatment, chemotherapy, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, patient-reported outcomes, post-treatment care, young women
MeSH terms
Breast Neoplasms, Cross-Sectional Studies, Fear, Female, Health Services Needs and Demand, Humans, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Recurrence, Local, Logistic Models, Survivors

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