Between Treatment and Everyday Life

Executive summary

This supplementary page accompanies the conceptual poster Between Treatment and Everyday Life. The poster proposes a structured, non-clinical, complementary survivorship support model for the post-treatment phase, integrating psychosocial stabilisation, daily routines and lifestyle, and self-management. It is theory- and guideline-informed rather than outcome-proven; the next step is feasibility-oriented pilot testing. The sources below are provided to anchor the model in established survivorship, psycho-oncology, rehabilitation, fatigue, lifestyle, and self-management literature. 

Pilot outline

A pilot study is proposed to test the feasibility, acceptability, interface fit, and outcome indicators of a structured, non-clinical survivorship support model after completion of primary cancer treatment. The intended population is adult cancer survivors who report ongoing adaptation needs in everyday life. The proposed format is an 8- to 12-week pilot with 4–6 structured individual sessions delivered remotely or in hybrid form within a clearly defined non-clinical scope. Core outcomes are feasibility, acceptability, retention, distress, self-efficacy, functioning, and daily functioning. Referral rules are predefined: psycho-oncology for clinically relevant distress, rehabilitation for marked functional decline, and oncology for new or worsening symptoms. 

Selected key guideline sources

World Health Organization. Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation: Module 7: Malignant Neoplasm (2023). 

World Health Organization. Rehabilitation fact sheet (22 April 2024). 

Vaz-Luis I, Masiero M, Cavaletti G, et al. ESMO Expert Consensus Statements on Cancer Survivorship. Annals of Oncology (2022). 

Andersen BL, Lacchetti C, Ashing K, et al. Management of Anxiety and Depression in Adult Survivors of Cancer: ASCO Guideline Update. Journal of Clinical Oncology (2023). 

Ligibel JA, Garland SN, Gupta S, et al. Management of Fatigue in Adult Survivors of Cancer: ASCO–Society for Integrative Oncology Guideline Update. Journal of Clinical Oncology (2024). 

Leitlinienprogramm Onkologie. S3 Guideline Psychoonkologische Diagnostik, Beratung und Behandlung von erwachsenen Krebspatientinnen*, version 2.1 (2023). 

Rock CL, Thomson CA, Sullivan KR, et al. American Cancer Society nutrition and physical activity guideline for cancer survivors. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (2022). 

Rimmer B, Brown MC, Sotire T, et al. Characteristics and Components of Self-Management Interventions for Improving Quality of Life in Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review. Cancers (2024). 

Full references

Institute of Medicine; National Research Council. 2006. From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/11468. 

McCabe MS, Faithfull S, Makin W, Wengström Y. 2013. Survivorship programs and care planning. Cancer. 119(Suppl):2179–2186. doi:10.1002/cncr.28068. 

Nekhlyudov L, Mollica MA, Jacobsen PB, Mayer DK, Shulman LN, Geiger AM. 2019. Developing a quality of cancer survivorship care framework: implications for clinical care, research, and policy. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 111(11):1120–1130. doi:10.1093/jnci/djz089. 

Vaz-Luis I, Masiero M, Cavaletti G, et al. 2022. ESMO Expert Consensus Statements on Cancer Survivorship: promoting high-quality survivorship care and research in Europe. Annals of Oncology. 33(11):1119–1133. doi:10.1016/j.annonc.2022.07.1941. 

Jefford M, Howell D, Li Q, et al. 2022. Improved models of care for cancer survivors. The Lancet. 399:1551–1560. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00306-3. 

World Health Organization. 2023. Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation: Module 7: Malignant Neoplasm. Geneva: WHO. 

World Health Organization. 2024. Rehabilitation fact sheet, 22 April 2024. Geneva: WHO. 

Leitlinienprogramm Onkologie. 2023. Psychoonkologische Diagnostik, Beratung und Behandlung von erwachsenen Krebspatientinnen*. Version 2.1. Berlin: German Guideline Program in Oncology. 

Rock CL, Thomson CA, Sullivan KR, et al. 2022. American Cancer Society nutrition and physical activity guideline for cancer survivors. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 72(3):230–262. doi:10.3322/caac.21719. 

Andersen BL, Lacchetti C, Ashing K, et al. 2023. Management of Anxiety and Depression in Adult Survivors of Cancer: ASCO Guideline Update. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 41(18):3426–3453. doi:10.1200/JCO.23.00293. 

Ligibel JA, Garland SN, Gupta S, et al. 2024. Management of Fatigue in Adult Survivors of Cancer: ASCO–Society for Integrative Oncology Guideline Update. Journal of Clinical Oncology. Published online 16 May 2024. doi:10.1200/JCO.24.00541. 

Rimmer B, Brown MC, Sotire T, Beyer F, Bolnykh I, Balla M, et al. 2024. Characteristics and Components of Self-Management Interventions for Improving Quality of Life in Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review. Cancers. 16(1):14. doi:10.3390/cancers16010014. 

Rimmer B, Sharp L. 2021. Implementation of Self-Management Interventions in Cancer Survivors: Why Are We Not There Yet? Journal of Cancer Education. 36:1355–1358. doi:10.1007/s13187-021-02021-2. 

Turner VW. 1969. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company. 

How to cite this poster

Rommelspacher S. Between Treatment and Everyday Life: structured survivorship support integrating psychosocial stabilisation, daily routines and lifestyle, and self-management. Conceptual conference poster, 2026.

Contact

Sibylle Rommelspacher
Independent researcher and cancer survivorship coach
Email: coaching@sibylle-rommelspacher.de
Website: www.sibylle-rommelspacher.de
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sibylle-rommelspacher