Background

Not all cancer survivors survive well (Walthert, 2012) often due to the health needs related to their cancer experience not being met (Department of Health, 2013). Various researchers have examined the best ways of meeting these needs to ensure the long-term health of cancer survivors (Lawn, Fallon-Ferguson, Koczwara, 2017; Mathews & Semper, 2017; Rubin, Berendsen, Crawford, et al ., 2015; Department of Health, 2013; Hewitt, Greenfield, & Stovall, 2006; Mols, Vingerhoets, Coebergh, & van de Poll-Franse, 2005) with one of the suggested ways forward being the referral of cancer survivors to cancer survivor support groups, which can include services such as meetings that provide education, sharing of experiences and counselling (Bultz, Speca, Brasher, Geggie, & Page, 2000). However, there has been relatively little research into what types of ‘support’ survivors use and the effectiveness of these strategies in improving their quality of life. The Cancer Society of New Zealand (Canterbury/West Coast Division) had identified a need to understand what support would help survivors to resume life with and after cancer and asked us to examine this on their behalf. The aim of our study was to explore the experiences of long-term (>5 Years) cancer survivors to develop an understanding of what they believed led to a high quality lived experience after having survived cancer.