Struggling with side effects after cancer treatment?
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Early-Onset Cancer- Survivors, Self-Mgmt?
Early-onset cancer diagnoses, defined as cancer occurring in people ages 18-49, has increased more than 79% since 1990. Deaths due to these early-onset cancer diagnoses rose 27.7% since 1990.
According to the same study linked below, cancer diagnoses in this group is predicted to increase by 31% and deaths from these cancer diagnoses are predicted to increase by 21% by 2031.
While that is a staggering increase in cancer diagnoses since 1990, because The Galen Foundation DBA PeopleBeatingCancer has a program that focuses on treatment-related side effects aka adverse effects in the cancer survivor population, my focus of the study below is that the population of long-term cancer survivors has skyrocketed since 1990.
Let me be direct. Oncology is tasked with treating your cancer. No matter what your outcome, oncology spends little time and money studying “adverse events” aka the long-term and late stage side effects of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
Because I am a long-term cancer survivor living with a host of long-term and late stage side effects myself, I immediately think of survivors living with side effects and the importance of anticipation, identification and healing of side effects in this world-wide group of cancer survivors.
The answer? Self-Management. Conventional oncology downplays the existence of long-term side effects. Once you reach remission or cancer-free status, your oncologist will be on to his/her next patient. When I say that I am not being critical of conventional oncology. This is simply the way that cancer care works in the United States.
To learn more about possible the self management of your own side effects, click here
Are you a cancer patient? Cancer survivor? Have you every experienced
- chemotherapy-induced cognitive dysfunction aka chemobrain?
- chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy?
- Nerve damage?
And the list goes on.
David Emerson
- Cancer Survivor
- Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
“Early-onset (EO) cancer has conventionally been defined as cancer occurring in adults age between 18 and 49 years.”
Global trends in incidence, death, burden and risk factors of early-onset cancer from 1990 to 2019
“Objective This study aimed to explore the global burden of early-onset cancer based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study for 29 cancers worldwid.
Methods and analysis Incidence, deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and risk factors for 29 early-onset cancer groups were obtained from GBD…
Results Global incidence of early-onset cancer increased by 79.1% and the number of early-onset cancer deaths increased by 27.7% between 1990 and 2019…
The projections indicated that the global number of incidence and deaths of early-onset cancer would increase by 31% and 21% in 2030, respectively…
Conclusions- Our study showed that the global morbidity of early-onset cancer increased from 1990 to 2019, while mortality and DALYs slightly decreased. The rate of incidence, mortality and DALY varied widely across regions, countries and cancer types…
Dietary risk factors, alcohol use and tobacco consumption were the main risk factors for top early-onset cancers in 2019. Additionally, it is necessary to conduct prospective life-course cohort studies to explore the aetiologies of early-onset cancers.
Encouraging a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, the restriction of tobacco and alcohol consumption and appropriate outdoor activity, could reduce the burden of early-onset cancer…”
A meta-review of qualitative research on adult cancer survivors: current strengths and evidence gaps
“Purpose: …This meta-review (systematic review of systematic reviews) aimed to assess the evidence base-summarising existing qualitative findings and identifying gaps for further research…
Conclusions: This meta-review provides insight into the areas of research density and paucity. Breast and gynaecological cancer survivors are strongly represented. Gaps in synthesis include reviews for other common cancers (e.g. lung, colorectal, melanoma, haematological) as well as survivorship topic areas such as:
- side/late effects,
- psychological issues,
- financial toxicity and
- health behaviours.
Implications for cancer survivors: Qualitative research into cancer survivor experiences can guide intervention development, as well as provide survivors with insight into the experiences and challenges faced by others with cancer.”
Self-management interventions for cancer survivors: A systematic review and evaluation of intervention content and theories
“Objective: Self-management has been proposed as a strategy to help cancer patients optimize their health and well-being during survivorship. Previous reviews have shown variable effects of self-management on outcomes. The theoretical basis and psychoeducational components of these interventions have not been evaluated in detail. We aimed to evaluate the evidence for self-management and provide a description of the components of these interventions…
Results: Forty-one studies published between 1994 and 29 March 2018 were included. Studies were predominantly randomized controlled trials and targeted to breast cancer survivors. A variety of intervention designs, psychoeducational components, and outcomes were identified. Less than 50% of the studies included a theoretical framework. There was variability of effects across most outcomes. Risk of bias could not be fully assessed.
Conclusions: There are limitations in the design and research on self-management interventions for cancer survivors that hinder their translation into clinical practice. Further research is needed to understand if these interventions are an important type of support for cancer survivors.”