Background:While current estimates indicate thatmore people are surviving cancer than ever before, not all are surviving well.
Aim:This presentation will describe preliminary results of the 1000 Survivor Study, a large online survey that aimed to comprehensively assess the concerns and support use behaviour of people who have experienced a cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment.
Methods:Eligible participants were adults 18 years or older who had been diagnosed with cancer and who had completed treatment or were receiving maintenance therapy. Over 1,000 cancer survivors, recruited through a multi-faceted community network and media campaign, completed an online survey asking about physical, emotional and practical concerns associated with their diagnosis and treatment.
Results:Participants had an average age of 57.6 years (SD = 12.9, range 18-87) with 54.9% being female. Seventy-four per cent were married or living with a partner and the highest level of education achieved was predominantly university, college, a trade or a technical certificate (64.7%). The majority (62.2%) had full private health insurance although 22.7% reported that they had no private health cover. Mixed cancer types were represented with the three most common treatments being surgery (68.2%), chemotherapy (45.5%), and radiation (44.9%). Nineteen percent reported they had finished treatment < 1 year ago, 39.1% of participants reported that had finished treatment between 1 and 5 years ago, and 31.8% finished treatment > 5 years ago. Detailed information will be reported on survivors’ concerns within the 3 domains of physical, emotional and practical problems, according to demographic characteristics and place of residence (regional/remote versus urban).
Conclusions: This important study quantifies an extensive range of concerns and accessed services for all cancer types. The findings will help to further identify, develop and inform support mechanisms urgently needed to improve the quality of life of the growing number of cancer survivors.