ArticlePloS one2023
'I think it affects every aspect of my life, really': Cancer survivors' experience of living with chronic pain after curative cancer treatment in England, UK.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Living with pain-a systematic review on patients' subjective experiences.Systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Mapping the gaps: Multi-disciplinary chronic pain service provision for cancer-related pain across England.British journal of pain · 2026Article
- The Experience of Social Alienation in Patients with Chronic Cancer-Related Pain: A Qualitative Study.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Correlation between mental health and pain-related impairment in patients with chronic cancer-related pain.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Network analysis of quality of life among young and middle-aged Korean cancer survivors.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2025Article
- Development of clinical recommendations to improve the care of people living with chronic pain as a long term or late effect of cancer and its treatment.British journal of pain · 2025Article
- Establishing the patient acceptable symptom state for patient-reported pain outcomes 6 months after breast cancer surgery.Pain reports · 2025Article
- Cancer-related pain in long-term survivors of oncological diseases: results of a survey on the current care situation.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimTo explore cancer survivors' experiences of living with chronic pain after curative cancer treatment in England, UK.
methodsA qualitative study using telephone interviews with adult cancer survivors experiencing chronic pain after curative cancer treatment. Interview data was analysed using a reflexive thematic approach [1-3].
findingsNineteen participants: 14 female, 5 male, mean age 62.4 years, 1.5-48 years since cancer diagnosis, eight tumour groups represented. Six participants (31.6%) developed chronic pain more than ten years after completing cancer treatment (range 0-25 years). Five themes were generated which highlighted the experience of chronic pain after cancer treatment for cancer survivors: 1) 'Hear me… believe me…. Please'. Survivors felt that they had not been listened to when they tried to talk about their chronic pain after cancer treatment, nor at times, believed. 2) 'Expectation versus reality'. Survivors had anticipated returning to pre cancer quality of life yet living in chronic pain prevented them from doing so. 3) 'They don't understand…. We don't understand'. Cancer survivors did not feel informed or prepared for the risk or reality of chronic pain after cancer treatment and this compounded the difficulties of coping with and managing their pain. They felt health care professionals lacked knowledge and understanding of chronic pain after cancer. 4) 'Negotiating the maze'. Cancer survivors encountered unclear and limited pathways for support, often bouncing from one support team to another. Identifying and accessing services was a challenge, and the responsibility of this was often left to the survivor. 5) 'Validate my pain, validate me'. Palpable relief and benefit was felt when health care professionals diagnosed and acknowledged their chronic pain after cancer treatment.
conclusionsCancer survivors can feel ill prepared for the risk of chronic pain after cancer treatment and can experience challenges accessing support from healthcare professionals and clinical services.
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