Translation and validation of tools for assessing health-related quality of life and male sexual function in Hong Kong Chinese patients during transitional cancer survivorship

Excerpt

The incidence of cancer is increasing in Hong Kong at an average annual rate of 3.9% [1]. Because of advances in cancer treatment and therapies over recent decades, many cancer patients are now living longer lives. “Cancer survivor” is a term used to describe those cancer patients who have completed treatment for the disease [2]. There are many definitions to specify the different periods of survivorship. Miller et al. proposed a model they called “seasons of survivorship”, which consisted of four seasons in the cancer trajectory: acute survivorship, transitional survivorship, extended survivorship, and permanent survival [3]. Transitional survivorship is the period of time spent passing from active treatment to watchful waiting and maintenance therapy. Cancer survivors are closely monitored during this period for any sign of progression in the disease. In this study, we define transitional survivorship as the period from 1 to 5 years after the completion of curative active cancer treatment, since in the local context cancer patients are followed up for 5 years to check for any recurrence. …