From Surviving Cancer to Getting on With Life - Adult Testicular Germ Cell Tumor Survivors’ Perspectives on Transition From Follow-Up Care to Long-Term Survivorship

Sep 24, 2026

Grounded theory qualitative study examines adult testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) survivors’ perspectives during transition from follow-up care to long-term survivorship. With rising incidence and high cure rates, survivors increasingly need specialized follow-up, yet their needs remain insufficiently understood, risking ongoing unmet care and symptom burden. Twelve adults in follow-up care or within a year after completion participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Constant-comparison analysis identified the core category “Dealing with back-and-forth forces” and two comparative processes: living beyond Damocles-like threats and getting on with life by resuming everyday existence. Findings suggest an individual, experience-dependent transition model to guide tailored follow-up care.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Follow-up care and long-term survivorship

From Surviving Cancer to Getting on With Life: Adult Testicular Germ Cell Tumor Survivors’ Perspectives on Transition From Follow-Up Care to Long-Term Survivorship Qualitative Health Research 2023, Vol. 33(8-9) 715–726 © The Author(s) 2023 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions) [DOI: 10.1177/10497323231173808](DOI: 10.1177/10497323231173808)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/10497323231173808)[journals.sagepub.com/home/qhr](journals.sagepub.com/home/qhr) Sandrien Weda 1, Danielle Zweers2, Britt B. M. Suelmann2, Richard P. Meijer3, and Sigrid C. J. M. Vervoort4 􀀁 Abstract With an increasing incidence and a high cure rate, a growing number of testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) survivors require specialized follow-up care. However, knowledge of these patients’ needs is lacking, leaving TGCT survivors with unmet care needs at risk of symptom burden when transitioning to long-term survivorship. This grounded theory study aimed to understand the perspectives of TGCT survivors’ transition from follow-up care to long-term survivorship. A total of 12 adult TGCT survivors in follow-up care or completion less than a year were in-depth semi-structured interviewed. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed by constant comparison, and the core category “Dealing with back-and-forth forces” emerged in the integrated concepts. Two comparative processes in dealing with those forces were identiﬁed: the process of Living beyond the sword of Damocles involved the transition from feeling threatened by cancer to overcoming those threats; the process of Getting on with one’s life can be described as transitioning from a period where cancer overruled their lives to carrying on with everyday life. The processes toward long-term survivorship follow general characteristics; the transition itself is an individual journey that depends on (life) experiences. The constructed model can guide healthcare professionals and researchers involved in TGCT survivorship to understand TGCT survivors’ individual and ensuing needs. When TGCT survivors receive individualized and tailored follow-up care, it can assist in preventing and reducing long-term and late effects on long-term survivorship. Keywords testicular neoplasms, testicular germ cell tumor, cancer survivorship, cancer survivors, AYA Background Given the relatively young age at diagnosis and a 5-year survival rate exceeding 95%, depending on prognosticbased staging and pathological risk factors, a growing number of testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) survivors require follow-up care after cancer treatment (Park et al., 2018; SEER,(n.d.) ; Trama et al., 2015) . Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) predominantly affect most men between 18 and 40 years of age, also known as Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) (Cheng et al., 2018) . When diagnosed early, TGCTs are one of the most treatable cancers, even in the case of metastases (Park et al., 2018) . Despite the good prognosis, cancer and its treatments can result in adverse and late effects that 1 Department of Nursing Studies, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands 2Department of Medical Oncology, UMC Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands 3Department Oncological Urology, UMC Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands 4Department of Nursing Science at Julius Center for Health Science and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Corresponding Author: Sigrid C. J. M. Vervoort, Department of Nursing Science at Julius Center for Health Science and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, Utrecht 3584 CX, The Netherlands. Email: [s.vervoort@umcutrecht.nl](s.vervoort@umcutrecht.nl) signiﬁcantly impact TGCT survivors ’ lives. Existing studies concerning TGCT survivors ’ lives have been conducted on the physical, social, psychological, and existential impact of adverse and late events of cancer and its treatment (Chovanec et al., 2021

FAQs

What is the main goal of the study on TGCT survivorship?

To understand adult TGCT survivors’ perspectives on transitioning from follow-up care to long-term survivorship and clarify their unmet care needs.

How were the study participants recruited and interviewed?

Twelve adult TGCT survivors in follow-up care or who had completed follow-up less than a year participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews.

What core process and two comparative processes were identified?

The core category was “Dealing with back-and-forth forces.” Two comparative processes were identified: Living beyond the sword of Damocles and Getting on with one’s life, moving from being threatened by cancer to carrying on everyday life.

Sep 24, 2026

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