Survey Highlights Widespread Emotional Impact Of Cancer On Patients And Their Families

A crab test is simply a life-changing arena for patients that tin origin short- and semipermanent intelligence wellness concerns arsenic they displacement to surviving wrong a caller timeline driven by weeks aliases months betwixt aesculapian follow-up appointments. A caller study conducted connected behalf of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) highlights nan wide affectional effect of cancer, revealing what weighs dense connected nan minds of adults erstwhile a loved 1 is diagnosed.

Kevin Johns, MD, head of nan psychosocial oncology programme astatine nan OSUCCC – James said studies propose that up to crab patients are 5 times arsenic apt to acquisition slump than nan mean organization and an estimated 42% of breast crab survivors acquisition anxiety.

Depression and worry tin importantly effect a patient's expertise to decorativeness attraction and afloat retrieve aft curen – each of which impacts semipermanent survival. It's not uncommon for patients to hold up to a twelvemonth to spot a psychiatrist, depending connected wherever they unrecorded and what security they have. Patients going done crab curen simply can't hold that agelong – nan request is acute but besides chronic, truthful timely entree is critical. We are moving to capable those gaps successful attraction to amended support our patients and their caregivers."

Kevin Johns, MD, head of nan psychosocial oncology program, OSUCCC – James

Caregivers transportation load of stress, grief, interest alongside loved ones 

A caller study commissioned by nan OSUCCC – James among U.S. adults property 18 aliases older focused connected nan apical concerns erstwhile a loved 1 is diagnosed pinch cancer. The study recovered that complete three-quarters of adults surveyed list life expectancy (76%), people of curen (69%) and symptom (65%) arsenic apical concerns they person astir loved ones diagnosed pinch cancer. The database of concerns was extensive, including: 

• Side effects (55%) 

• Family accent (54%)

• Grief (49%)

• Medication (42%)

• Caregiver accent (34%)

• Body image (11%)

• None of nan supra (2%)

"The analyzable quality of caregivers' concerns is very typical of nan unsocial challenges we look arsenic a intelligence wellness organization successful supporting our patients done curen and into their 'new normal' arsenic a crab survivor," Johns said. "It is genuinely a life journey, and for illustration immoderate journey, it tin person utmost ups and downs that must beryllium navigated. Helping our patients thrive beyond nan test done due intelligence wellness attraction is paramount to achieving precocious value of life." 

Other notable points from nan survey: 

• Young Americans ages 18-29 are much apt than each different property groups to study condolences (66%) arsenic a apical interest erstwhile a family personnel is diagnosed pinch cancer. 

• Young adults are besides much apt than older adults, property 65 and over, to opportunity that assemblage image (18%) is simply a apical concern. 

• Conversely, nan oldest Americans are much apt than nan youngest Americans to opportunity that people of curen (74%) and caregiver accent (37%) are apical concerns for them erstwhile a loved 1 is diagnosed.

Johns noted that intelligence wellness is particularly analyzable successful nan crab subsister organization because challenges tin manifest successful different ways astatine different stages of nan crab travel done diagnosis, curen and survivorship follow-up. He cited cognitive changes, terrible fatigue, "brain fog" brought connected by nan effects of treatment, and moreover PTSD-like (post-traumatic accent disorder) symptoms aliases hallucinations and infirmary delirium arsenic broadside effects of crab that are not often talked astir but that tin beryllium very jarring for patients and caregivers alike.

"If patients aliases their caregivers are not warned beforehand that these symptoms tin occur, it tin origin a batch of unnecessary worry and shame, truthful it is very important that we activity pinch our patients and caregivers upfront to hole them for what mightiness happen," said Johns. 

Changing, expanding exemplary of care

Under Johns' leadership, nan OSUCCC – James Psychosocial Oncology Program has greatly expanded its squad of psychiatric providers, psychologists, societal workers and different intelligence wellness professionals to support OSUCCC – James patients. 

In addition, Johns besides helped nan OSUCCC - James aviator an innovative oncology consulting work to thief bosom aesculapian oncologists navigate aesculapian guidance of worry and slump among their patients. The aviator inaugural was received positively by patients and nan aesculapian oncologists and is now being expanded to service patients pinch caput and cervix cancer.

"Patients going done crab curen already person truthful galore appointments, and mostly they create a very adjacent narration pinch their aesculapian oncologist, truthful this practitioner besides becomes nan default intelligence wellness supplier if they do not person contiguous entree to a specialized wellness attraction provider," said Johns. "This caller exemplary of support was designed to thief widen existing intelligence wellness support services to arsenic galore patients arsenic possible."

To study much astir psychosocial oncology and different services for patients and caregivers astatine nan OSUCCC – James provided done JamesCare for Life, sojourn cancer.osu.edu aliases telephone 1-800-293-5066. 

Survey methodology

This study was conducted by SSRS connected its Opinion Panel Omnibus platform. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is simply a national, twice-per-month, probability-based survey. Data postulation was conducted from May 2 – May 5, 2025 among a sample of 1,008 respondents. The study was conducted via web (n=978) and telephone (n=30) and administered successful English. The separator of correction for full respondents is +/-3.6 percent points astatine nan 95% assurance level. All SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus information are weighted to correspond nan target organization of U.S. adults ages 18 aliases older.