Background: Cancer is a collective name for many different diseases and occurs when the balance in a cell is disturbed and transforms into a tumor cell. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Suffering from cancer affects a person physically and psychologically, and surviving cancer can be just as wearing.  Aim: The purpose of the study was to describe people's experiences of surviving a cancer disease. Method: A literature study was used as a method. 12 articles were selected for the result. The articles were found in the databases Cinahl and PsycInfo. Results: The result gave rise to three main themes: "Loss of trust in healthcare", "Living with consequences" and "Feelings about the future". With seven associated subthemes: "Not getting information", "Feeling forgotten", “Lack of identity”, “Strategies for change”, “Having someone to talk to”, "Not feeling safe'' and “Daring to dream”. The results show how complicated the aftercare of cancer can be, both for healthcare professionals but not least for cancer survivors. Experiences of having survived cancer differed depending on the support network around. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the healthcare system is lacking in several aspects when it comes to aftercare for cancer survivors. Where the healthcare system failed, there were family, friends and people with similar experiences as support. Fear of relapse, fear of dying and anxiety were leading emotions in the study's results.

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Objective: The impact of childhood cancer on future quality of life (QoL) in survivors is unclear. Current studies focus on comparing outcomes to healthy peers and identifying related treatment and demographic variables, but a shift in our approach is necessary. This study is guided by the Wilson and Cleary Model (WMC) and seeks to identify longitudinal predictors of QoL in adolescent survivors of cancer that explain variance in QoL beyond the impact of treatment and demographic variables. Methods: The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) is a multi-institutional longitudinal study following a cohort of childhood cancer survivors. This study focuses on the CCSS cohort (N = 305) who completed the baseline survey in 1994 and the Teen survey in 2001. The baseline survey assessed parent-report of child’s psychological and physical symptoms, functional status, and health perceptions. The Teen survey utilized the Child Health and Illness Profile – Adolescent Edition (CHIP-AE), a self-report measure assessing QoL in six domains: achievement, resilience, satisfaction, discomfort, disorders, and risk. The primary hypothesis was that psychological and physical symptoms, functional status impairment, and health perceptions as rated by parents at baseline would predict variance in quality of life as rated by adolescents at follow-up after adjusting for demographic and treatment-related variables. Six separate hierarchical regressions were analyzed for each of the QoL domains. Results: The main hypothesis was supported. For each QoL outcome, a significant amount of variance was predicted: achievement, F (6, 259) = 8.90, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .152, resilience, F (12, 209) = 3.47, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .118, satisfaction, F (6, 265) = 8.73, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .146, discomfort, F (7, 273) = 6.75, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .126, disorders, F (9, 212) = 6.47, p < .0001, adjusted R2 = .182, and risk, F (7, 238) = 4.81, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .098. Furthermore, for all outcomes, psychological and physical symptoms, functional status impairment, and health perceptions predicted variance above and beyond the impact of demographic and treatment variables. These factors accounted for an additional 9.5% of the variance in the achievement domain, 6.2% for resilience, 10.8% for satisfaction, 6.5% for discomfort, 12.4% for disorders, and 6.1% for risk. Conclusions: Results suggest that psychological and physical symptoms, functional status and health perceptions should be assessed and targeted in interventions for childhood cancer survivors to promote future positive QoL. Future studies need to continue identifying factors related to positive long-term functioning in diverse samples of childhood cancer survivors.

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The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology study was to explore and describe the meaning employees attribute to the lived experiences of returning to work after cancer treatment. Semi-structured interviews were held with eight participants and a thematic data analysis method was used. The results indicate that cancer survivors experience various challenges that make it difficult to function as they did before the diagnosis when they return to work. A critical hermeneutical reflection against the literature followed the structural analysis and resulted in a contextual framework that incorporated the individual and organisational perspective on the various influences involved in supporting cancer survivors to maintain their wellbeing when they return to work. Four phases, repression, comprehension, activation and reintegration, were identified when they tried to cope/adjust on their return to work. The corresponding forms of organisational support they expected through these phases were labelled motivation, information, navigation and stabilisation. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com.

Social acceptance and peer and romantic relationship self-efficacy were examined as salient factors related to social development among emerging adult (ages 18 to 25) survivors of pediatric cancers. Using a cross-sectional, within-groups methodology, relationships between cancer treatment intensity and peer and romantic relationship self-efficacy and social acceptance were assessed. Perceived health vulnerability, situational coping style, parent and peer attachment, and perceived physical attractiveness were explored as moderators of peer and romantic relationship self-efficacy and social acceptance. Additionally, social acceptance was examined within a cancer stereotyping framework. Fifty-two emerging adult survivors of pediatric cancers (54% male; mean (M) age = 21.38 years, standard deviation (SD) age = 3.11 years) completed self-report questionnaires. Participants were diagnosed between ages 5 and 19 (Mage = 12.59 years, SDage = 4.57 years) and were at least six months post-active treatment (Mtime = 7.32 years, SDtime = 4.46 years). Simultaneous regression analyses indicated that health vulnerability, coping style, parent and peer attachment, and physical attractiveness together accounted for a significant amount of variance in peer and romantic relationship self-efficacy and self-perceived social acceptance. There were significant main effects of perceptions of physical attractiveness and peer attachment on peer relationship self-efficacy and self-perceived social acceptance. There was also a main effect of perceived physical attractiveness on romantic relationship self-efficacy. However, treatment intensity was not significantly related to peer or romantic relationship self-efficacy or social acceptance. Furthermore, there were no significant moderating effects of health vulnerability, coping, parent or peer attachment, or physical attractiveness on the relationship between treatment intensity and peer or romantic relationship self-efficacy or social acceptance. In terms of social acceptance, participants believed that others’ viewed them as more socially accepted than they viewed themselves. Participants also rated a hypothetical peer with cancer as less socially accepted than healthy peers. Results suggest greater perceived physical attractiveness and stronger attachment to peers may be strongly related to greater relationship confidence and feelings of being socially accepted. Survivors may also hold stereotyped views of their own level of social acceptance and the social acceptability of peers diagnosed with cancer. Future research and interventions implications are considered.

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology study was to explore and describe the meaning employees attribute to the lived experiences of returning to work after cancer treatment. Semi-structured interviews were held with eight participants and a thematic data analysis method was used. The results indicate that cancer survivors experience various challenges that make it difficult to function as they did before the diagnosis when they return to work. A critical hermeneutical reflection against the literature followed the structural analysis and resulted in a contextual framework that incorporated the individual and organisational perspective on the various influences involved in supporting cancer survivors to maintain their wellbeing when they return to work. Four phases, repression, comprehension, activation and reintegration, were identified when they tried to cope/adjust on their return to work. The corresponding forms of organisational support they expected through these phases were labelled motivation, information, navigation and stabilisation. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

With the increase in survival for children with cancer, part of the focus of current research is aimed towards evaluating how these children are adapting psychosocially. Neurocognitive deficits have been well established. However, there are multiple facets encompassing quality of life, including general mental health, lifestyles and health behaviors, and academic and cognitive functioning. The relationship between neurocognitive and psychosocial functioning has yet to be thoroughly evaluated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between neurocognitive and psychosocial functioning in survivors of brain tumors and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Data was collected from existing archival database comprised of patients of the at Cook Children's Medical Center in Texas. The sample consisted of 177 patients between the ages of 3 and 12 who were at least two years post-diagnosis. Measures used included the NEPSY and the Behavioral Assessment for Children. Statistical analyses included a several one-way analysis of variances, an independent samples t-test, a univariate analysis of variance, a hierarchical multiple regression, and odds ratio analyses. Results indicated survivors treated with neurosurgery alone appear to be less at risk for developing behavior problems than other treatment modalities. Also, brain tumor survivors demonstrate more problematic behaviors than survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Visuospatial functioning, diagnosis, and type of treatment were found to be predictive variables of behavior problems. Attention, and perhaps language, deficits may predispose children to more problems in their behavior. It is concluded that there are other factors affecting behavior in this population that were not accounted for in this analysis. It is recommended for future studies to research the individual clinical scales of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, obtain information from multiple informants, study this relationship longitudinally, and research additional factors that may be influencing the relationship between neurocognitive and psychosocial functioning. This provides evidence of risk factors that should be monitored as the child returns home and to school.