Background
Five-year survival outcomes of women with early stage endometrial cancer are high; however, little is known about their psychological well-being, with anxiety and depression reported as common shortly after diagnosis, but little data on whether well-being remains impacted throughout survivorship, whether women receive psychological or pharmacological treatment when required, or whether this is beneficial. This study aims to understand psychological well-being of women with endometrial cancer during long-term survivorship and to describe what support or treatment received for anxiety and depression.
Methods
A qualitative study of semi-structured telephone interviews was conducted. Participants were women 46-73 years, that had received surgical treatment within the laparoscopic approach to cancer of the endometrium (LACE) trial 7-10 years earlier. Thematic analysis was performed by two researchers to separate the codes of each theme.
Results
Seventeen women were interviewed and then discontinued as saturation of data was achieved. Four major themes were identified, including how psychological well-being changed from diagnosis to survivorship, pharmacological treatment of distress, psychological treatment and support, and strategies for psychological well-being. Women psychologically tolerated surgery well, however, some faced persistent, or newly developed distress during survivorship. Few women preferred psychological support. The women were more interested in complementary and alternative treatments, including exercise, medication and walking to improve or sustain psychological well-being.
Conclusions
Women preferred psychological treatment and complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) over pharmacological treatments due to their interest in natural healing or therapies and achieving a healthy lifestyle. Future research should consider studying in-depth the types or and reasons for CAM received by women with endometrial cancer.