Tackling the fear that cancer will come back

Many people who have survived cancer worry that it will come back. Well over half report high levels of fear of recurrence – which is why it’s considered the number one unmet need of cancer survivors. When Dr Sophie Lebel began her career in psychology, she instantly recognized the problem.

“Many of the patients who were referred to me had this fear,” Dr Lebel explains. “And at the time there were no published studies describing how to address it.” Luckily, that has changed in recent years – thanks in part to her work.

For her studies, Dr Lebel focused on women with breast, gynecological and blood cancers because studies showed that they had some of the highest rates of fear that their cancer would come back. Initially, she trialed a 6-week group program called Fear of Recurrence Therapy (FORT), co-developed with McGill University’s Dr Christine Maheu. When the program was a success, they expanded her efforts to implementing FORT in 5 sites across Canada, hoping to bring the helpful treatment to more people.

So far, we are happy to report that most of the cancer sites involved in the project have been able to offer 2 FORT groups each,” says Dr Lebel. “We have heard from therapists that they really enjoyed giving FORT and that the feedback from participants has been very positive.

Participants in FORT attend 6 weekly group therapy sessions led by experts. The goal: to give people practical tools to help them confront and manage their fears. Although it didn’t come as a surprise that patients and clinicians liked this type of therapy, Dr Lebel says she was surprised at how quickly and easily the program was rolled out across the country. Next, she plans to interview therapists and patients about their experiences to find out what it would take to offer the program long-term.  

Often, it’s difficult for researchers to move this kind of work from research to routine care. Although early trials may receive funding, studies that bring treatments into the clinic can face greater challenges. That’s why Dr Lebel is eager to talk about the importance of ongoing funding for researchers tackling tough problems in cancer care and survivorship.  

“Very few interventions move beyond pilot studies or initial investigation to routine clinical care, which is a significant drain on public resources,” she explains.