The psychological impact of ‘watch and wait’ regimes for CLL 0.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the psychological impact of coping with ‘watch and wait’ regimes for patients diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL); a Grounded Theory
IRAS ID
275150
Contact name
Lisa Caygill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Teesside University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 26 days
Research summary
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) is a cancer of the lymphatic system (Lymphoma Action, 2019), that has an insidious onset and a chronic, relapse-remitting course (Redaelli et al., 2004). Approximately 3,500-4,000 people are diagnosed each year with CLL in the UK, which equates to around 10 new cases each day (Lymphoma Action, 2019). With a median survival of approximately 10 years (London Cancer CLL Guidelines, 2015), treatments aim to control the disease and symptoms rather than provide a cure (Bell, 2017). ‘Watch and wait’ regimes are central to the management of early and indolent CLL (Levin, Li, Riskind, & Rai, 2007), which involves patients being regularly monitored for symptoms and changes in blood cell counts (Bell, 2017), as treatment of early CLL does not typically provide a survival advantage (Levin, Li, Riskind, & Rai, 2007). Watchful waiting is argued to be psychologically demanding for the patient in receiving a diagnosis but not being offered treatment (Ardeshna et al., 2014), being incongruent with “the earlier the better” philosophy and expectations associated with cancer (Levin et al., 2007). Despite this, there is a significant gap in research that explores the experiences of patients with CLL on watch and wait regimes (Kim et al., 2018) which the current study aims to address. The study will use qualitative, grounded theory methodology to develop a theoretical model of the psychological impact, ways of coping and support needs of patients diagnosed with CLL on watch and wait regimes. The research will add to the limited understanding of the needs of this client group and provide a theoretical model that may help to inform providers in supporting patients in future.
REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
20/WA/0268
Date of REC Opinion
14 Oct 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion