ASPO Abstracts
Impact of comorbidity on the emotional well-being and health behaviors of women’s cancer survivors: expanding survivorship models to address unmet needs
Category: Survivorship & Health Outcomes/Comparative Effectiveness Research
Conference Year: 2019
Abstract Body:
Purpose: Identify unmet needs and opportunities to improve survivorship of women’s cancer survivors with and without comorbidities.Methods: Identified women treated for breast, cervical, ovarian, or endometrial cancer at two cancer centers in Virginia. Women were eligible if they were between 6 months and 3 years after active therapy. Participants (n=183) completed a telephone questionnaire including cancer history, prior comorbidities, health-management behaviors, mental health status, and quality of life. Results: Average age was 63.5 years. Majority of women were diagnosed with breast (58%) or endometrial cancer (28%). Thirty percent received chemotherapy. Reported health management behaviors included: 31% follow a specific diet, 32% maintain a healthy weight, 45% have an exercise program and 45% monitor health behaviors or conditions.Three-quarters of participants had at least one comorbidity and more than half had two or more. Participants with at least one comorbidity were three times as likely to report being bothered by feeling like they are failing to do what they should be doing to take care of themselves, feeling like they can’t do the things that they like to do, and feeling like managing their health problems was taking up too much of their energy every day. They were more than twice as likely to report experiencing severe fatigue and ten times as likely to report often or always feeling depressed, worn out, and frustrated. Conclusions: A minority of women’s cancer survivors report health management behaviors that are known to improve survivorship. Women with comorbidities are experiencing greater fatigue, more negative emotions and more significant impacts on their emotional well-being. These findings emphasize the need to develop strategies to support women with their health management during survivorship. It will also be important to expand programs to address the physical and emotional needs of survivors with comorbidities as this population will continue to increase.
Keywords: SurvivorshipComorbidityWomens Cancers