Abstract
Background: Fear of cancer recurrence or progression (FCR/P) is a common challenge experienced by people living with and beyond cancer and is frequently endorsed as the highest unmet psychosocial need amongst survivors. This has prompted many cancer organizations to develop self-help resources for survivors to better manage these fears through psychoeducation, but little is known about whether they help reduce FCR/P.Method: We recruited 62 women with ovarian cancer. Women reported on their medical history and demographic characteristics and completed the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form (FoP-Q-SF). They then read a booklet on FCR specifically created for Ovarian Cancer Australia by two of the authors (ABS and PB). One week after reading the booklet, 50/62 women (81%) completed the FoP-Q-SF and answered questions about their satisfaction with the booklet.Results: More than half of the women (35/62; 56.5%) scored in the clinical range for FCR/P at baseline. Of the completers, 93% said that they would recommend the booklet to other women. Satisfaction with the booklet was relatively high (75.3/100) and more than two-thirds of women rated it as moderately helpful or better. However, FCR/P did not change significantly over the week following reading the booklet [t(49) = 1.71, p = 0.09]. There was also no difference in change in FCR/P between women in the clinical vs. non-clinical range on the FoP-Q. Women high in FCR/P rated the booklet as less helpful in managing FCR/P (r = −0.316, p = 0.03), but overall satisfaction with the booklet was not associated with degree of FCR/P (r = −0.24, p = 0.10).Conclusions: These results suggest that a simple online FCR booklet is acceptable to women with ovarian cancer and they are satisfied with the booklet, but, it was insufficient to change in FCR/P levels. These results suggest that such resources are valued by women with ovarian cancer, but more potent interventions are necessary to reduce FCR in this population.
Highlights
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among gynecological cancers with a 46% 5-year survival rate, as the disease is often diagnosed at an advance stage (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2020)
70% of women with ovarian cancer are expected to experience recurrence of their cancer, when diagnosed at later stages (Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, 2020). Not surprisingly given this high recurrence rate, fear of cancer recurrence or progression (FCR/P) is one of the most common psychosocial concerns reported by this population (Matulonis et al, 2008; Kyriacou et al, 2017)
In a systematic review of FCR/P in ovarian cancer, Ozga et al (2015) confirmed that FCR/P was prevalent amongst ovarian cancer survivors, and that women with ovarian cancer felt that there was insufficient support for managing FCR/P
Summary
70% of women with ovarian cancer are expected to experience recurrence of their cancer, when diagnosed at later stages (Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, 2020) Not surprisingly given this high recurrence rate, fear of cancer recurrence or progression (FCR/P) is one of the most common psychosocial concerns reported by this population (Matulonis et al, 2008; Kyriacou et al, 2017). Fear of cancer recurrence or progression (FCR/P) is a common challenge experienced by people living with and beyond cancer and is frequently endorsed as the highest unmet psychosocial need amongst survivors. This has prompted many cancer organizations to develop self-help resources for survivors to better manage these fears through psychoeducation, but little is known about whether they help reduce FCR/P
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