Abstract
Testicular cancer is the most common tumor in young males aged 15–40 years. The overall cure rate for men with testicular cancer is >90%, so a huge number of these patients will become testicular cancer survivors. These people may feel some stress in the experience of diagnosis, treatment, and consequences that affects the quality of life, and during follow-up, especially when new issues and emotional distresses appear over time, such as late side-effects of treatments and emotional challenges including fear of tumor relapse, fertility and sexuality concerns, and social and workplace issues. The cancer experience has an impact not only on patients, but also on their relatives (e.g., spouses, parents, or siblings), who often have to assume a caregiving role for the duration of and following treatment for cancer. Moreover, the caregiver plays an important role in supporting a man with a testicular cancer, providing physical and emotional care. This review presents a summary of existing knowledge regarding the impact and the burden of testicular cancer on caregivers.
Highlights
Testicular cancer (TC) is the most frequent solid tumor in young adult men aged between 15 and 35 years, and is a highly curable cancer with survival rates close to 99% for stage I disease cases and 80–90% for cases with metastatic disease treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy and surgery on residual masses, when indicated [1]
The 10–20% of metastatic patients who are not cured with first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy, increase their chances of long-term remission in nearly 50% of cases treated with second-line treatments, such as high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) or standard-dose chemotherapeutic regimens, and in nearly 15–30% of cases treated in the following lines with other salvage regimens [2,3,4,5]
Patients partnered at diagnosis experience a better emotional and physical adaptation to disease [53, 54] and the majority of follow-up studies reported that the rate of divorce or broken relationship was 5% to 10% [55]
Summary
Testicular cancer (TC) is the most frequent solid tumor in young adult men aged between 15 and 35 years, and is a highly curable cancer with survival rates close to 99% for stage I disease cases (localized tumor) and 80–90% for cases with metastatic disease treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy and surgery on residual masses, when indicated [1]. The 10–20% of metastatic patients who are not cured with first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy, increase their chances of long-term remission in nearly 50% of cases treated with second-line treatments, such as high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) or standard-dose chemotherapeutic regimens, and in nearly 15–30% of cases treated in the following lines with other salvage regimens [2,3,4,5]. A young age at diagnosis and excellent prognosis, physical, psychological and social well-being represent a significant indicator for follow-up and survivorship of these people. Despite the excellent prognosis, cured patients may experience long-term somatic sequelae and psychosocial distress
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