Quality of life and fear of cancer recurrence in patients and survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Susan Ellis, Rhonda F. Brown, Einar B. Thorsteinsson*, Kenneth I. Pakenham, Colin Perrott

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    6 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a common haematological cancer that is comprised of approximately 30 subtypes, of which Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare incurable form. It is typically managed using a watch-and-wait strategy that can contribute to illness uncertainty which may result in fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and poor health-related quality of life (QOL). However, few studies have examined the correlates of FCR and QOL in NHL patients, including WM patients. One-hundred males and 92 females with a mean age of 62.7 years who were an average of 6.8 years from diagnosis completed the online questionnaire which asked about demographics, medical history, QOL, FCR, stress, anxiety and depression. Few NHL patients reported significant stress or affective distress, most had moderate-high QOL and 41% experienced recent FCR, relative to published cut-off scores. Poorer QOL was related to depression symptoms, FCR, higher illness burden (i.e. comorbidity) and fewer personal resources (i.e. unemployed), whereas FCR was related to shorter time since diagnosis and more depressive symptoms. Results suggest that FCR and depressive symptoms may adversely impact QOL, whereas a recent cancer diagnosis and depression-related pessimism may contribute to FCR.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1649-1660
    Number of pages12
    JournalPsychology, Health and Medicine
    Volume27
    Issue number8
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2022

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