Unmet supportive care needs and symptom burden in Taiwanese cancer survivors who have completed primary treatment.

The number of cancer survivors is increasing due to scientific advances. Previous research on unmet care needs of Taiwanese cancer survivors focused on patients with newly or recently diagnosed cancer. Little is known about the needs and symptom experiences of cancer survivors who have completed treatment. This is a cross-sectional survey study. Patients who were over 20 years old; had completed their first-line treatment for their cancer were recruited into the study. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics, a global item of quality of life, the physical effects subscale of the Cancer Survivors' Survey of Needs (CSSN), and Cancer Survivors' Unmet Needs measure (CaSUN). One hundred and twenty cancer survivors participated in this study. Body changes, loss of strength, weight change, memory and concentration and fatigue were the top five symptom concerns. Nearly half of the Taiwanese survivors reported needs for up-to-date information, understandable information, and an ongoing case manager were not met. On average, survivors reported 7.68 unmet care needs. Male gender, being under 50 years of age, and having a solid tumor were associated with higher levels of unmet needs. This study provides preliminary information about the type and levels of physical symptom concerns and supportive care needs in long-term cancer survivors in Taiwan. Specific groups of cancer survivors whose needs were unmet were identified. The current healthcare system is not sufficiently meeting the needs of cancer survivors and more efforts are required to advance survivorship care and research in Taiwan.

Lo WT ，Yates P ，Chan RJ 《-》

Supportive care needs and associated factors among Chinese cancer survivors: a cross-sectional study.

Li Q ，Lin Y ，Zhou H ，Xu Y ，Xu Y ... -  《-》

Assessment of quality of life, information, and supportive care needs in patients with muscle and non-muscle invasive bladder cancer across the illness trajectory.

Chung J ，Kulkarni GS ，Morash R ，Matthew A ，Papadakos J ，Breau RH ，Guttman D ，Bender J ，Jones JM ... -  《-》

Fear of Recurrence as a Predictor of Care Needs for Long-Term Breast Cancer Survivors.

Fang SY ，Fetzer SJ ，Lee KT ，Kuo YL ... -  《-》

The development and evaluation of a measure to assess cancer survivors' unmet supportive care needs: the CaSUN (Cancer Survivors' Unmet Needs measure).

Many cancer survivors experience ongoing morbidity over the survivorship continuum and their supportive care needs have yet to be comprehensively assessed. This study aimed to develop and empirically evaluate a self-report measure of cancer survivors' supportive care needs. In Phase I, questionnaire items were generated based upon previous qualitative research that identified both unique and shared needs in survivors and their partners; items were constructed into the Cancer Survivors' Unmet Needs measure (CaSUN). In Phase 2, the CaSUN was completed by 353 cancer survivors who had been diagnosed with cancer between 1 and 15 years earlier and were currently disease-free. After modification, the CaSUN included 35 unmet need items, 6 positive change items and an open-ended question. Good acceptability, internal consistency and validity were demonstrated, although test-retest reliability was low. Maximum likelihood factor analysis identified five discrete factors: Existential Survivorship, Comprehensive Care, Information, Quality of Life and Relationships. Preliminary data indicates that the CaSUN meets the majority of psychometric criteria for assessment measures, although its low test-retest reliability awaits further investigation. The CaSUN will facilitate the evaluation of supportive care services and generation of service delivery recommendations for cancer survivors.

Hodgkinson K ，Butow P ，Hunt GE ，Pendlebury S ，Hobbs KM ，Lo SK ，Wain G ... -  《PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY》