The Role of Perceived Benefits in Buffering Gastrointestinal-Symptom Burden Among Post-Operative Colorectal Cancer...

Objectives: The goal of this longitudinal study was to explore how gastrointestinal-symptom distress and benefit finding together influence health-related quality of life (HRQOL) over time in colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors. Colorectal cancer (CRC) survivorship may differ from other cancer types due to the persistent burden of gastrointestinal symptoms. The highly visible and socially sensitive nature of these sequelae may influence the trajectory of benefit finding compared with other cancers. Specifically, we explored whether increases in symptom distress predicted declines in physical and mental HRQOL whether benefit finding was directly related to or buffered the negative impact of symptom distress on HRQOL. Methods: Participants were 73 Taiwanese women and men who underwent surgery for CRC. Using a three-time-point, multilevel framework, participants were assessed at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to investigate whether gastrointestinal-symptom distress and benefit finding covary over time with HRQOL. Results: The results indicated that increases in gastrointestinal-symptom distress were linked to declines in both physical and mental HRQOL. Benefit finding had no direct association with HRQOL but significantly moderated the symptom-HRQOL relationship, weakening the negative impact of symptom distress among those with higher benefit finding. Conclusions: Rises in a CRC survivor's gastrointestinal-symptom distress went hand-in-hand with drops in both physical and mental HRQOL. This study adds to the literature in that benefit finding has a favorable effect on cancer adjustment when patients face higher symptom distress after the surgery and treatment. Further implications on possible mechanisms were discussed.