Existential challenges experienced by lymphoma survivors: Results from the 2010 LIVESTRONG Survey

Abstract

We sought to examine the existential challenges that cancer survivors may experience as they strive to make meaning, regain their self-identity, cope with fear of recurrence, and experience feelings of grief and guilt. Lymphoma survivors ( n = 429) completed the 2010 LIVESTRONG survey and provided responses about meaning, cancer worry, security, identity, grief, guilt, and perceived functional impairment due to these concerns. Most survivors (73%−86%) endorsed existential concerns, with 30–39 percent reporting related perceived functional impairment. Concerns were associated with being female, younger, unmarried, and having undergone stem cell transplantation. Lymphoma survivors experience existential challenges that impact their life even years after diagnosis.