Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most common cancer for Canadians (Canadian Cancer Society, 2011). Compared to healthy controls, CRC survivors report impaired quality of life (QOL) (Arndt et al., 2004). Survivors report physical and psychological symptoms post-treatment, including sexual dysfunction, depression, fatigue, and bowel dysfunction (e.g., Harrington et al., 2010). Although cross-sectional studies have examined the relationship between QOL and symptom severity in this population, little research has investigated the relationship of symptom change to QOL prospectively. The proposed research will expand on extant research by addressing the impact of long-term physical and psychological symptoms on QOL over time. As part of a larger longitudinal study examining post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic stress disorder among colorectal cancer patients (PI: Dr. Stacey Hart, funded by CIHR New Investigator award in Gender and Health and Lance Armstrong Foundation Research Award), the proposed research will utilize data from CRC patients (N=139) previously recruited from outpatient surgery practices. Patients were recruited at the time of diagnosis and completed validated self-report measures of symptom severity and QOL at four time points: prior to surgery (baseline), and 6, 12, and 18 months post-surgery. Measures included the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre Bowel Function Instrument, the SF-36 (QOL), the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Fatigue Scale, the Insomnia Severity Index, the International Index of Erectile Function, and the Female Sexual Function Index. It is hoped that this research will address a gap in the current literature regarding the long-term physical and psychological outcomes among survivors of colorectal cancer, and how these outcomes may change over the course of cancer survivorship.