|
This research fills a gap in the area of
long-term cancer survivorship. Historically, cancer
survivorship among older adults was relatively rare.
However, advances in cancer treatment along with
more general increases in longevity mean that cancer
survivorship among older adults will be a
significant aspect of later life for more
individuals.
The research on cancer survivors that does exist
typically has not examined the range of physical,
social, and psychological effects that can continue
even decades after recovery. Older adults, because
of other co-morbid health conditions and later life
stressors, represent a particularly vulnerable group
in terms of diminished quality of life. Yet, most
older adults who survive cancer often lose many of
the sources of social and medical support they had
available to them during their illness. The CSRP is
engaged in examining the patterns of support and the
effects of those patterns on long-term survivors'
adjustment to the disease and its continuing
sequelae.
The research conducted by the CSRP also
represents significant conceptual developments. It
utilizes the general stress and coping paradigm that
has long been used in research on the effects of
illness. Additionally, it combines the perspectives
of extreme stress theory and identity theory to
examine the effects of cancer on this uniquely
vulnerable group of survivors. While only a small
proportion of cancer survivors exhibit traumatic
stress symptoms, the presence of sub-clinical levels
of post-traumatic stress disorder need to be
addressed. The CSRP is one of the first studies to
address these issues. A major emphasis of the CSRP's
work has been on how the development of the
"survivor identity" buffers the individual from some
of the more profound effects of cancer. While
identity theory has been adapted to the study of
illness, the project's research will be the first
explicit test of identity issues and survivorship as
related to long-term psychosocial distress. Other
key aspects of the research address the ways that
personal dispositions such as coping style and
health beliefs, along with proactive behaviors such
as health promotion and marshalling social and
health care support, can buffer cancer survivors
from chronic stressors associated with cancer
survivorship.
|
