
“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”
This study was done to find out more about how people recover from surgery for bowel cancer.
Surgery is one of the usual treatments for bowel cancer.
In this study, researchers wanted to find out more about how people feel and how they cope before and after surgery. They hoped this could help to identify who was most at risk of problems and find ways to help them.
The aims of this study were to find out:
The study team found that people who have depression and little confidence to manage problems don’t recover well from bowel surgery.
857 people took part in the study. Everyone filled in questionnaires:
The questionnaires asked about:
Using the above information, the study team made some predictions about how people might recover. The predictions they made took into account:
They grouped the information into the 3 following areas:
The study team used the information in the questionnaires to track how people were getting on in each of the 3 above areas. They looked at all the results and divided people into 4 groups depending on how they rated the above in the first two years following their surgery.
Quality of life
Health status
Wellbeing
From this, they identified 4 possible routes of recovery. Of the 4 groups:
The study team found that having depression and lacking the confidence to manage problems before surgery were significantly linked to having poorer quality of life, health status and wellbeing after surgery. This is independent of treatment or the type and stage of the cancer.
Other predictors of poor recovery were:
The study team concluded that this study helped to identify the people who were most in need of intensive support. They say this is an important finding as appropriate support before surgery and soon after could result in a more positive experience.
We have based this summary on information from the research team. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team who did the research. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Prof Claire Foster
Macmillan Cancer Support
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
University of Southampton
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”