The devastating physical effects of cancer are well known, but a new study seeks to address an aspect of cancer recovery that is seldom spoken about and much harder to measure.
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Fear of cancer recurrence is one of the most common and distressing concerns for cancer patients, often having a debilitating impact on every day life.
Despite its impact, survivors and doctors are often reluctant to discuss it, and it is not usually part of standard post-treatment assessments in cancer care.
But new research led by UNSW shows a simple one question screening tool could help identify the fear in cancer survivors.
Researchers believe simply asking survivors to rate their fear of their cancer recurring on a 0-10 scale could help experts devise strategies which could improve the mental health and quality of life of survivors, while also reducing healthcare costs.
Senior Research Fellow Ben Smith said while strategies for identifying fear of recurrence existed, they took too long and were impractical for initial screening in clinical settings.
More than 50 million people are living with cancer or in remission globally and it is estimated that more than half of these people experience clinically significant fear of recurrence.
"Getting help to cope... is a top reported unmet need by cancer survivors, above pain, fatigue and other physical symptoms," Dr Smith said.
"Without treatment, FCR may persist for many years, even in survivors with good prognoses."
in its research, the team analysed data from 107 adult survivors of different types of cancer to test the potential efficacy of the single question screening method.
Results were then compared with results from a Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory-Short Form measure - a well-established scale for in-depth assessment commonly used by researchers.
The team found the single-item measure effectively measured survivors' fear of recurrence and could identify cancer survivors who were in need of further attention.
When implemented in practice, the single-item measure would be followed by secondary tools to assess the severity of fear and select appropriate treatment options.
To read the full paper click here.
