Survivorship care needs among LGBT cancer survivors

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To better understand survivorship care needs among LGBT cancer survivors. DESIGN: We administered an anonymous online survey. SAMPLE: LGBT cancer survivors living in the United States. METHODS: Participants were recruited via the National LGBT Cancer Project. The survey measured sociodemographic characteristics, social support, posttraumatic stress, and survivorship care needs. RESULTS: Approximately 72% of our 114 participants were cisgender male and 87% were white. Almost all participants reported at least some unmet survivorship care needs (73%), with over half of participants reporting unmet psychological and sexuality care needs. Participants who reported their oncologist was not LGBT-competent had greater unmet needs (t(82) = 2.5, p = 0.01) and greater posttraumatic stress (t(91) = 2.1, p = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: LGBT cancer survivors have significant unmet survivorship care needs, and lack of oncologist LGBT-competence is associated with unmet needs. Implications for Psychosocial Providers: Our results suggest the need for LGBT competency training for providers.