Hughes, L., Taylor, R.M. orcid.org/0000-0002-0853-0925, Beckett, A.E. orcid.org/0000-0001-5233-3390 et al. (7 more authors) (2024) The Emotional Impact of a Cancer Diagnosis: A Qualitative Study of Adolescent and Young Adult Experience. Cancers, 16 (7). 1332. ISSN 2072-6694
Abstract
The biographical disruption that occurs in adolescents and young adults following a cancer diagnosis can affect various important psychosocial domains including relationships with family and friends, sexual development, vocational and educational trajectories, and physical and emotional wellbeing. While there is evidence of the physical impact of cancer during this period, less is known about the impact on emotional wellbeing and especially on the barriers for young people accessing help and support. We aimed to obtain a more in-depth understanding of young people’s experiences of their diagnosis, treatment, psychological impact, and range of resources they could or wanted to access for their mental health. We conducted an in-depth qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 43 young people who had developed cancer aged 16 to 39 years and were either within 6 months of diagnosis or 3–5 years after treatment had ended. Framework analysis identified three themes: the emotional impact of cancer (expressed through anxiety, anger, and fear of recurrence); personal barriers to support through avoidance; and support to improve mental health through mental health services or adolescent and young adult treatment teams. We showed the barriers young people have to access care, particularly participant avoidance of support. Interrupting this process to better support young people and provide them with flexible, adaptable, consistent, long-term psychological support has the potential to improve their quality of life and wellbeing.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 by the authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | adolescent; young adult; mental health; emotional wellbeing |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Medical Research (LIMR) > Division of Oncology |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EU - European Union 10039273 NIHR National Inst Health Research TYA CAN COHORT STY G569 Cancer Research UK Supplier No: 138573 C7775/A7424 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Apr 2024 09:28 |
Last Modified: | 22 Apr 2024 09:28 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/cancers16071332 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:211681 |