[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-351969-105":59,"doc-detail-351969-en":134},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":127,"head_meta":129,"extra_data":131,"updated_unix":133},105,"en","missing-moments-and-being-a-burden-the-lived-experience-of-fear-of-cancer-recurrence-among-older-rural-australian-women","Missing moments and being a burden: the lived experience of fear of cancer recurrence among older rural Australian women","","Fear of cancer recurrence is common in cancer survivorship and can affect physical and mental well-being. This qualitative study addresses a gap in understanding rural older Australian women’s lived experience of fear of recurrence. Ten women aged 65+ in remission from gynaecological cancers participated in semi-structured interviews. Inductive thematic analysis produced four themes mapped to the Lee-Jones Model, with coping and help-seeking extending beyond the model. Participants feared being a burden or losing family, and often avoided professional help, suggesting current support may be insufficient and that targeted support is needed.",{"@graph":69,"@context":126},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/missing-moments-and-being-a-burden-the-lived-experience-of-fear-of-cancer-recurrence-among-older-rural-australian-women/351969/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/missing-moments-and-being-a-burden-the-lived-experience-of-fear-of-cancer-recurrence-among-older-rural-australian-women/351969.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Well Done","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-23","2026-09-22",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118,122],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What was the study’s main purpose?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"To fill a gap in understanding rural older women’s lived experience of fear of cancer recurrence.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Who participated in the qualitative interviews?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Ten women aged 65 years and older living in rural Australia, in remission from gynaecological cancers.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How did the themes relate to the Lee-Jones Model?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Four overarching themes were mapped onto the Lee-Jones Model, providing a largely congruent framework, while coping and help-seeking extended beyond the model.",{"name":123,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":124},"What coping and help-seeking patterns were prominent?",{"text":125,"@type":113},"Participants valued self-reliance, feared being a burden to family, and showed aversion to seeking professional help, often preferring distraction or avoidance of fear-related thoughts.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":128,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":130,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":132,"site_id":62},351969,1790323413,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":135},{"doc_id":132,"user_id":136,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":137,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":138,"file_id":139,"file_url":140,"file_type":141,"file_size":142,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":52,"language":143,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":144,"faqs":145,"seo_title":146,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":147,"read_time":148},5909892210082,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/56001069da27c9f41e8?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1789614185077863061","Supportive Care in Cancer (2026) 34:754  \n[https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-026-10967-6](https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-026-10967-6)  \nMissing moments and being a burden: the lived experience of fear of cancer recurrence among older rural Australian women  \nSenara Kulatunga1 · Stacey Rich2,5 · Irene Blackberry2,3 · Christopher B. Steer1,2,4,5  \nReceived: 18 December 2025 / Accepted: 29 June 2026 / Published online: 10 July 2026 © The Author(s) 2026  \nAbstract  \nFear of cancer recurrence is a common experience in cancer survivorship and can impact both physical and mental well-being. Some evidence exists on the manifestation of fear of cancer recurrence and its treatment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to fill a gap in the understanding of rural older women’s lived experience of fear of cancer recurrence. A sample of ten women aged ≥ 65 years living in rural Australia who were in remission from gynaecological cancers participated in semi-structured interviews about their lived experience of fear of cancer recurrence. Inductive thematic analysis generated four overarching themes that were subsequently mapped onto the Lee-Jones Model of fear of cancer recurrence, which provided a largely congruent interpretative framework for the affective, behavioural and cognitive aspects of older women’s experiences in this sample. However, themes relating to coping mechanisms and help-seeking behaviour extended beyond the model’s constructs, particularly around participants' strong self-reliance values and aversion to seeking support. Across interviews, a prominent concern was the fearof being a burden to family if cancer were to return, or concern for family members if they were to die. Further, they expressed anaversion to seeking professional help when worries about recurrence emerged, preferring to distract themselves or avoid thoughts of fear. The aversion to help-seeking highlighted in this sample suggested that traditional forms of support offered for fear of cancer recurrence may not be appropriate for older women. Further work is needed to establish targeted support for this cohort.  \nKeywords Fear of cancer recurrence · Older women · Qualitative · Survivorship · Geriatric oncology · Rural  \n* Christopher B. Steer [c.steer@unsw.edu.au](c.steer@unsw.edu.au)  \nStacey Rich  \n[srich@bordermedonc.com.au](srich@bordermedonc.com.au)  \n1 School of Clinical Medicine, Rural Clinical Campus, University of New South Wales, Albury, Australia  \n2 John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research, La Trobe University, 133 McKoy St Wodonga, Victoria, Australia  \n3 Care Economy Research Institute, La Trobe University, 133 McKoy St Wodonga, Victoria, Australia  \n4 Border Medical Oncology and Haematology, Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre, Borella Rd Albury, New South Wales, Australia  \n5 Border Medical Oncology Research Unit, Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre, Borella Rd Albury, New South Wales, Australia  \nIntroduction  \nCancer survivorship brings with it a burden of psychological work, including the fear that cancer may one day return. Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR) is defined as the“fear, worry, or concern about the possibility that cancer will come back or progress” p. 3266 [1] . FCR exists on a spectrum from normal to clinical levels [1] . Clinical FCRis characterised by high levels of preoccupation, high levels of worry, and hypervigilance to bodily symptoms [2] . Given these elevated levels of distress, FCR can significantly affect patients’ psychosocial well-being and physical health [3] . Improved screening and treatment strategies in the past two decades have led to increased survival rates among patients with cancer [4], resulting in more patients living in remission with the psychological burden that cancer may return.  \nThe Lee-Jones model of Fear of Cancer Recurrence [5] suggests that internal and external cues trigger specific thoughtsand emotions, leading to behavioural responses and psychological effects (Fig. 1). FCR s","cbCaipJj2V13jQvh","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipJj2V13jQvh","pdf",1250412,"English","# Introduction\n## Fear of cancer recurrence and its impact\n## Lee-Jones model and factors influencing FCR\n## Evidence gaps in older rural women\n## Psychological interventions and limitations","[{\"question\":\"What was the study’s main purpose?\",\"answer\":\"To fill a gap in understanding rural older women’s lived experience of fear of cancer recurrence.\"},{\"question\":\"Who participated in the qualitative interviews?\",\"answer\":\"Ten women aged 65 years and older living in rural Australia, in remission from gynaecological cancers.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the themes relate to the Lee-Jones Model?\",\"answer\":\"Four overarching themes were mapped onto the Lee-Jones Model, providing a largely congruent framework, while coping and help-seeking extended beyond the model.\"},{\"question\":\"What coping and help-seeking patterns were prominent?\",\"answer\":\"Participants valued self-reliance, feared being a burden to family, and showed aversion to seeking professional help, often preferring distraction or avoidance of fear-related thoughts.\"}]","Missing moments and being a burden: the lived experience of fear of cancer recurrence among older rural Australian women | PDF",1790096634,25]