Supportive care needs and utilization of bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy: A longitudinal study.

Investigating supportive care (SC) needs and utilization/willingness to use SC services from diagnosis to one year after radical cystectomy in bladder cancer (BC) patients. MATERIALS & METHODS: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted in 90 BC patients at Ghent/Leuven University Hospitals between April 2017 and December 2020. The Supportive Care Needs Survey-short form (SCNS-SF34) was used before radical cystectomy, one, three, six and 12 months after radical cystectomy. Additional questions assessed utilization/willingness to use SC services. Linear mixed models were performed.

The majority of BC patients report at least one moderate or high SC need at diagnosis (82%), month 1 (84%), month 3 (86%), month 6 (64%), and month 12 (60%). Significant decreases over time were seen for all domains (p < 0.001), except for sexuality (p = 0.275). From baseline to month 1, physical needs first significantly increased (p = 0.001) after which they decreased. Psychological (e.g. fears about the future) and informational (e.g. information on how to get better) needs were most common at baseline whereas physical (e.g. lack of energy) and informational needs were more common in the early postoperative phases. The majority of patients (ranging from 81% (month 1) to 91% (month 12)) did not make use of SC services and the majority of the patients (ranging from 81% (month 1) to 88% (month 12)) did not wish to talk about their problems to someone. Those willing to talk to someone preferred their physician.

A clear gap exists between the large proportion of SC needs experienced by BC patients undergoing radical cystectomy and the low use of SC services.

Psycho-oncology. 2021 Aug 27 [Epub ahead of print]

Elke Rammant, Ann Van Hecke, Karel Decaestecker, Maarten Albersen, Steven Joniau, Wouter Everaerts, Femke Jansen, Nihal E Mohamed, Roos Colman, Mieke Van Hemelrijck, Valérie Fonteyne

Department of Human Structure and Repair, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium., Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium., Department of Urology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium., Department of Urology, Leuven University Hospitals, Leuven, Belgium., Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Cancer Centre Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands., Department of Urology and Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA., Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Biostatistics Unit, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium., School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Studies, Translational Oncology & Urology Research (TOUR), King's College London, London, UK.