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Utah Cancer Survivors: A Comprehensive Comparison of Health-Related Outcomes Between Survivors and Individuals Without a History of Cancer

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Abstract

Assessments of cancer survivors’ health-related needs are often limited to national estimates. State-specific information is vital to inform state comprehensive cancer control efforts developed to support patients and providers. We investigated demographics, health status/quality of life, health behaviors, and health care characteristics of long-term Utah cancer survivors compared to Utahans without a history of cancer. Utah Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2009 and 2010 data were used. Individuals diagnosed with cancer within the past 5 years were excluded. Multivariable survey weighted logistic regressions and computed predictive marginals were used to estimate age-adjusted percentages and 95 % confidence intervals (CI). A total of 11,320 eligible individuals (727 cancer survivors, 10,593 controls) were included. Respondents were primarily non-Hispanic White (95.3 % of survivors, 84.1 % of controls). Survivors were older (85 % of survivors ≥40 years of age vs. 47 % of controls). Survivors reported the majority of their cancer survivorship care was managed by primary care physicians or non-cancer specialists (93.5 %, 95 % CI = 87.9–99.1). Furthermore, 71.1 % (95 % CI = 59.2–82.9) of survivors reported that they did not receive a cancer treatment summary. In multivariable estimates, fair/poor general health was more common among survivors compared to controls (17.8 %, 95 % CI = 12.5–23.1 vs. 14.2 %, 95 % CI = 12.4–16.0). Few survivors in Utah receive follow-up care from a cancer specialist. Provider educational efforts are needed to promote knowledge of cancer survivor issues. Efforts should be made to improve continuity in follow-up care that addresses the known issues of long-term survivors that preclude optimal quality of life, resulting in a patient-centered approach to survivorship.

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Acknowledgments

Support for this research comes from the Huntsman Cancer Institute’s Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program and the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. We also acknowledge the use of shared resources supported by P30 CA042014 awarded to Huntsman Cancer Institute. This work was also supported, in part, by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) K07CA196985 (Y.P.W.). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. We would like to thank the Utah Department of Health for their assistance with data acquisition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Huntsman Cancer Institute, 2000 Circle of Hope Drive, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Brynn Fowler, Lisa Pappas, Yelena P. Wu, Jeff Yancey, Jennifer Wright, Deanna Kepka & Anne C. Kirchhoff

  2. Study Design and Biostatistics Center, University of Utah, 295 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Qian Ding & Lisa Pappas

  3. Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah, 375 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Yelena P. Wu

  4. College of Nursing, University of Utah, 10 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Lauri Linder, Margaret Clayton & Deanna Kepka

  5. Primary Children’s Hospital, 100 Mario Capecchi Dr, Salt Lake City, UT, 84132, USA

    Lauri Linder & Jennifer Wright

  6. Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, 295 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Anne C. Kirchhoff

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  1. Brynn Fowler
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  2. Qian Ding
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  3. Lisa Pappas
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Correspondence to Brynn Fowler.

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Fowler, B., Ding, Q., Pappas, L. et al. Utah Cancer Survivors: A Comprehensive Comparison of Health-Related Outcomes Between Survivors and Individuals Without a History of Cancer . J Canc Educ 33, 214–221 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-1098-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-1098-y

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