Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42406007›Full record

ArticleJournal of cancer survivorship : research and practice2026

Do young people who have been treated for cancer identify as 'survivors'? Adolescents and young adults' preferences for cancer-related identities in survivorship.

Ursula M Sansom-Daly, Elin Irestorm, Rachel Houweling, Kate Hetherington, Brittany C McGill, Sarah J Ellis, Clarissa E Schilstra, Mark W Donoghoe, Benjamin D Bravery, Richard J Cohn and 2 more

Abstract read
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Article in Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Ursula M Sansom-DalyBehavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Building C29 HTH Level 3, 55 Botany St, Kensington 2033, Randwick, NSW, Australia. ursula@unsw.edu.au.
Elin IrestormBehavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Building C29 HTH Level 3, 55 Botany St, Kensington 2033, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Rachel HouwelingBehavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Building C29 HTH Level 3, 55 Botany St, Kensington 2033, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Kate HetheringtonBehavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Building C29 HTH Level 3, 55 Botany St, Kensington 2033, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Brittany C McGillBehavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Building C29 HTH Level 3, 55 Botany St, Kensington 2033, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Sarah J EllisBehavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Building C29 HTH Level 3, 55 Botany St, Kensington 2033, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Clarissa E SchilstraBehavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Building C29 HTH Level 3, 55 Botany St, Kensington 2033, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Mark W DonoghoeClinical Research Unit, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Benjamin D BraverySchool of Medicine, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia.
Richard J CohnBehavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Building C29 HTH Level 3, 55 Botany St, Kensington 2033, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Antoinette AnazodoKids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, Australia.
Claire E WakefieldBehavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Building C29 HTH Level 3, 55 Botany St, Kensington 2033, Randwick, NSW, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeCancer has a considerable impact on adolescents and young adults (AYAs) as their identity develops. One contentious issue in the literature is what to call people with a cancer history. Here we investigated the following: (1) what identity labels AYAs with and without a cancer history prefer, (2) demographic and psychological factors associated with adopting the 'survivor' label, and (3) how AYAs' cancer identity preferences evolve over time.

methodsStudy 1 compared identity preferences cross-sectionally between 93 AYAs with a cancer history, and 51 comparison AYAs with a non-cancer illness history. Study 2 longitudinally followed a subsample of AYAs with a cancer history (N = 40). AYAs completed two identity-related tasks, as well as measures of depression, anxiety, and illness centrality.

resultsAYAs treated for cancer were more likely to adopt the 'survivor' label than the comparison group. AYAs with a cancer history who indicated that cancer remained a more central part of their identity were more likely to adopt the 'survivor' identity. The highest proportion preferring 'survivor' as an identity was shortly post-treatment (35%), with preferences becoming more diverse and distributed over a 12-month period into survivorship.

conclusionAYAs who have had cancer described themselves in different ways, with the term 'survivor' not preferred by most. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: As the landscape of AYA cancer care into survivorship evolves, the language we use matters not only for identity and adjustment during and beyond cancer, but also for the broader context in which cancer-and post-cancer identity-is discussed in society.

Indexed as

Adolescent and young adultIdentityPsychological adaptationPsychological processesSurvivorship

Identifiers

PMID42406007

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.