Life After Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer in Adulthood Contributions From Psychosocial Oncology Research

The number of individuals living with a history of cancer is estimated at 13.7 million in the United States and is ex-pected to rise with the aging of the population. With ex-panding attention to the psychosocial and physical conse-quences of surviving illness, psychological science and evidence-based practice are making important contribu-tions to addressing the pressing needs of cancer survivors. Research is demonstrating that adults diagnosed with can-cer evidence generally positive psychosocial adjustment over time; however, a subset is at risk for compromised psychological and physical health stemming from long-term or late effects of cancer and its treatment. In this article, we characterize survivorship after medical treat-ment completion during the periods of reentry, early sur-vivorship, and long-term survivorship. We describe the major psychosocial and physical sequelae facing adults during those periods, highlight promising posttreatment psychosocial and behavioral interventions, and offer rec-ommendations for future research and evidence-based practice