Problem: Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR) is a frequent and prevalent phenomenon experienced by ovarian cancer survivors and spouses throughout survivorship.
Purpose: The purpose of this secondary analysis was to analyze the perceived level of FCR by the years of survivorship in women with ovarian cancer and their spouses.
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework: The theoretical framework for this research study was based on the Common-Sense Model of Illness developed by Leventhal, Diefenbach, & Leventhal (1992) and further expanded by Lee-Jones et al. (1997).
Method: This was a secondary analysis of data from a large study of predictors of adjustment using the demographic and Fear of Cancer Questionnaire (FRQ) results. The secondary analysis is a descriptive correlational design to analyze cross-sectional data from the primary study of subset of cancer survivors who experienced recurrence(s) of ovarian cancer and their spouses (n = 32 dyads).
Results: No significant correlation with FCR scores and years of survival in ovarian cancer survivors (r = -0.18, p = 0.33) and spouses (r = -0.31, p = 0.08). ANOVA yielded no difference in FCR scores by age in survivors (F = 0.16, p = 0.69) with 95% CI (76.08, 89.92) and spouses (F = 0.17, p = 0.69) with 95% CI (86.9, 95.9).
Conclusions/Implications: It is recommended future research of this study sample perform multiple linear regression or factor analysis statistical tests to demographic variables which may influence FCR scores in ovarian cancer survivors and their spouse
