Open AccessFrequency, Characteristics, and Correlates of Pain in a Pilot Study of Colorectal Cancer Survivors 1–10 Years Post‐Treatment
Author(s) -
Lowery Amy E.,
Starr Tatiana,
Dhingra Lara K.,
Rogak Lauren,
HamrickPrice Julie R.,
Farberov Maria,
Kirsh Kenneth L.,
Saltz Leonard B.,
Breitbart William S.,
Passik Steven D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
pain medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1526-4637
pISSN - 1526-2375
DOI - 10.1111/pme.12223
Subject(s) - medicine , biopsychosocial model , quality of life (healthcare) , rating scale , chronic pain , anxiety , physical therapy , depression (economics) , brief pain inventory , cancer , colorectal cancer , cancer pain , psychiatry , psychology , developmental psychology , nursing , economics , macroeconomics
Objective The long‐term effects of disease and treatment in colorectal cancer ( CRC ) survivors are poorly understood. This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of pain in a sample of CRC survivors up to 10 years post‐treatment. Design One hundred cancer‐free CRC survivors were randomly chosen from an institutional database and completed a telephone survey using the B rief P ain I nventory, N europathic P ain Q uestionnaire‐ S hort F orm, Q uality of L ife C ancer S urvivor S ummary, B rief Z ung S elf‐ R ating D epression S cale, Z ung S elf‐ R ating A nxiety S cale, and F ear of R ecurrence Q uestionnaire. Results Participants were primarily C aucasian (90%) married (69%) males (53.5%) with a mean age of 64.7 years. Chronic pain was reported in 23% of CRC survivors, with a mean moderate intensity rating (mean = 6.05, standard deviation = 2.66) on a 0–10 rating scale. Over one‐third (39%) of those with pain attributed it to their cancer or treatment. Chi‐square and t ‐test analyses showed that survivors with pain were more likely to be female, have lower income, be more depressed and more anxious, and show a higher endorsement of suicidal ideation than CRC survivors without chronic pain. On average, pain moderately interfered with daily activity. Conclusions Chronic pain is likely a burdensome problem for a small but not inconsequential minority of CRC survivors requiring a biopsychosocial treatment approach to improve recognition and treatment. Open dialogue between clinicians and survivors about physical and emotional symptoms in long‐term follow‐up is highly recommended.