Supportive care needs and psychosocial functioning of adult brain tumour survivors

R elative to other adult tumour populations, the brain tumour (BT) population is an understudied group with respect to understanding the psychosocial outcomes and supportive care needs associated with being diagnosed with this condition. Moreover, this is a unique tumour population given that both benign and malignant BTs can cause neuro-cognitive, functional and psychosocial disturbances depending on site and size of the lesion. A meningioma is one type of BT that commonly occurs in adults and in most instances is benign. However the supportive care needs of meningioma patients has not been previously studied. Accordingly, the overarching aim of the present study was to address this issue as well as to index survivors’ psychosocial functioning and quality of life. To date, 46 participants with a primary meningioma have been assessed on average 3 years post-diagnosis. At assessment, at least one-third of the sample reported a high level of ongoing unmet needs in at least one major psychosocial, health-related or supportive care service domain. These findings will be discussed in the context of developing and implementing appropriate supportive services to address the unique needs of BT populations, including individuals diagnosed with metastatic brain disease (a common occurrence with primary cancers, e.g., lung disease).