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Barriers to follow-up care among survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer.

ABSTRACT: PURPOSE:Though the need for risk-based follow-up care for survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer has been documented, survivors often report forgoing recommended care due to cost. We sought to understand whether additional barriers to follow-up care exist for AYA survivors. METHODS:We recruited survivors who were diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15 and 39 using the Utah Cancer Registry (UCR). Overall, 28 survivors participated in 6 focus groups held between March and May 2015 in Salt Lake City and St. George, UT. Focus group discussions focused on the reasons survivors may or may not attend recommended medical visits after completing therapy. RESULTS:Survivors reported myriad barriers to follow-up medical visits, including lack of clear provider recommendation, fear of recurrent cancer diagnosis, wishing to move on with life, competing life responsibilities due to work and children, and not perceiving the need for a visit due to lack of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS:Though cost likely plays a major part in follow-up care adherence for survivors of AYA cancer, in our focus groups, participants indicated there were many other psychosocial and logistic barriers to care. Such factors play an important role in the day-to-day lives of survivors and are critical in medical decision-making. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS:Several factors impede follow-up care adherence for survivors of AYA cancer that are amenable to interventions, including clearer provider recommendations, flexible appointment times, and childcare availability in clinics.

SUBMITTER: Smits-Seemann RR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5526603 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Barriers to follow-up care among survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer.

Smits-Seemann Rochelle R RR Kaul Sapna S Zamora Eduardo R ER Wu Yelena P YP Kirchhoff Anne C AC

Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice 20160831 1

<h4>Purpose</h4>Though the need for risk-based follow-up care for survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer has been documented, survivors often report forgoing recommended care due to cost. We sought to understand whether additional barriers to follow-up care exist for AYA survivors.<h4>Methods</h4>We recruited survivors who were diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15 and 39 using the Utah Cancer Registry (UCR). Overall, 28 survivors participated in 6 focus groups held between ...[more]

PMID: 27582007

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Project description:ImportanceCancer diagnosis and treatment may adversely affect reproductive outcomes among female cancer survivors.ObjectiveTo compare the birth outcomes of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (AYA [diagnosed at ages 15-39 years]) with those of women without a cancer diagnosis.Design, setting, and participantsThe North Carolina Central Cancer Registry (CCR) was used to identify female AYA cancer survivors diagnosed from January 2000 to December 2013; CCR records were linked to statewide birth certificate files from January 2000 to December 2014 to identify postdiagnosis live births to AYA survivors (n = 2598). A comparison cohort of births to women without a recorded cancer diagnosis was randomly selected from birth certificate files (n = 12 990) with frequency matching on maternal age and year of delivery.Main outcomes and measuresPrevalence of preterm birth, low birth weight, small-for-gestational-age births, cesarean delivery, and low Apgar score.ResultsOverall, 2598 births to AYA cancer survivors (mean [SD] maternal age, 31 [5] years) were included. Births to AYA cancer survivors had a significantly increased prevalence of preterm birth (prevalence ratio [PR], 1.52; 95% CI, 1.34-1.71), low birth weight (PR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.38-1.83), and cesarean delivery (PR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01-1.14) relative to the comparison cohort of 1299. The higher prevalence of these outcomes was most concentrated among births to women diagnosed during pregnancy. Other factors associated with preterm birth and low birth weight included treatment with chemotherapy and a diagnosis of breast cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or gynecologic cancers. The prevalence of small-for-gestational-age births and low Apgar score (<7) did not differ significantly between groups.Conclusions and relevanceLive births to AYA cancer survivors may have an increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight, suggesting that additional surveillance of pregnancies in this population is warranted. Our findings may inform the reproductive counseling of female AYA cancer survivors.

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Barriers to follow-up care among survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer.

Publications

Barriers to follow-up care among survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer.

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