Tag: fear of cancer recurrence
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Fear of cancer recurrence is often spoken about as though it were one uniform experience, but the way it shows up in people’s thinking can differ considerably from one person to the next. For some, the dominant thoughts are about dying. For others, the fear centres on the prospect of going through treatment again, or…
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Fear of cancer recurrence exists on a continuum. At one end, it is a natural, adaptive response to having had cancer — occasional thoughts about recurrence that come and go without taking over. At the other end, it can become all-consuming: a persistent, heavy presence that interferes with daily life, relationships, and the ability to…
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After cancer, ordinary bodily sensations — a headache, fatigue, a twinge in the side — often stop feeling ordinary. This shift in how the body is experienced is one of the most common features of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), reported by around 50–60 per cent of cancer survivors at moderate to high levels (Luigjes-Huizer,…
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Body checking after cancer — the repeated monitoring of physical sensations for signs of recurrence — is one of the most common behavioural expressions of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR). Research shows that around 50–60 per cent of cancer survivors experience at least moderate levels of FCR (Luigjes-Huizer, Tauber et al., 2022), and cognitive-behavioural models…