Psychological well being and quality of life in ovarian cancer survivors

Abstract

BACKGROUND This report offers a unique analysis of the psychological distress associated with ovarian cancer in a review of natural correspondence between ovarian cancer survivors and an ovarian cancer newsletter. METHODS A review of 21,806 letters, cards, and e‐mails reflecting correspondence from January 1994 to December 2000 between ovarian cancer survivors and the founding editor of Conversations!: The International Newsletter for those Fighting Ovarian Cancer was performed using ethnographic qualitative research methods. Statements related to the impact of disease were bracketed and coded within physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains according to the City of Hope Quality of Life Ovarian Cancer instrument. Statements that reflected psychological well being were then evaluated with respect to the disease trajectory (i.e., diagnosis, treatment, remission, recurrence, and advanced disease/end of life). RESULTS A total of 1282 communications were identified that pertained to psychological well being. Findings based on major themes derived from the analysis included descriptions of stressors associated with disease status. Significant stressors were identified within all phases of diagnosis, treatment, remission, and recurrence. Women described both positive and negative effects of disease and frequently demonstrated resourcefulness and perseverance by sharing coping mechanisms and survival strategies. CONCLUSIONS The natural correspondence from women with ovarian cancer provided a rare opportunity to capture the psychological concerns of women throughout all stages of the cancer trajectory. Health care professionals' awareness of the common psychological stressors throughout the ovarian cancer trajectory may allow them to identify more readily the needs for support, leading to improvement in overall quality of life. Cancer 2003;98:1061–71. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11291

Coping and Quality of Life in Turkish Women Living with Ovarian Cancer

“…Recent studies suggest that coping strategies are determinants of the cancer patients' quality of life (Ferrell et al, 2003;Butow et al, 2013;Price et al, 2013). Moreover, they are considered modifiable aspects of the patients' lives that contribute to various health and psychosocial related outcomes.…”

Pathways for psychosocial care of cancer survivors

“…93 A qualitative review of natural correspondence between survivors of ovarian cancer and an ovarian cancer newsletter found that these women were able to describe their cancer experience and its effects on their lives in both negative and positive terms and that they often demonstrated resourcefulness and creative problem solving by sharing coping and survival strategies. 94 Research also suggests that cancer experience may have a positive influence on lifestyle change among adult cancer survivors who, in one study, reported a positive influence of cancer on smoking and diet: 46% of smokers reported quitting smoking, and 47% of respondents reported changing their dietary habits. 95 Research on positive outcomes among cancer survivors suggests that many view their treatment as an event that led to reevaluation of their life priorities, greater appreciation of relationships, greater sensitivity to needs of others, posttraumatic growth related to perceived threat to life, improved coping ability, and greater overall life satisfaction.…”

A longitudinal investigation of psychological morbidity in patients with ovarian cancer

“…However, as gynaecological cancers have different profiles, the psychological challenges associated with these various malignancies may differ (Rieger, Touyz and Wain, 1998). Published research evaluating ovarian cancer include mostly qualitative studies (Ferrell et al, 2002(Ferrell et al, , 2003aHowell et al, 2003) and quality-of-life studies (Guidozzi, 1993;Anderson, 1994;Kornblith et al, 1995;Ersek et al, 1997;Borduka-Bevers et al, 2000;Lakusta et al, 2001). These studies indicate that disruptions to quality of life may occur, which includes significant distress, impairment in physical, vocational, social, familial and sexual functioning.…”