Hello again from the 65th Annual Gerontological Society of America (GSA) conference in San Diego! Moments ago, I presented a late-breaking poster on behalf of CSC and all of the great work which has gone into CancerSupportSource—our 25-item psychosocial distress screening, referral and follow-up program.
The poster presented age differences with respect to: 1) areas of reported distress, 2) areas in which assistance was requested, 3) type of assistance requested, and 4) risk for clinical depression. The results clearly demonstrated age differences in the cancer survivorship experience. Adults age 45-54 were overwhelmingly more distressed than those 65+, were more likely to request assistance for treating their distress and were nearly 4 times more likely to be at risk for clinical depression.
Many people stopped by the poster and expressed their interest in CancerSupportSource including researchers, administrators, advocates and medical professionals. People were especially interested in the Research and Training Institute and our ability to conduct novel community based research through CSC’s grassroots affiliate network.
I am meetings a lot of great people, and thoroughly enjoying my time at the GSA conferences thus far. I will try to check in once more following my next poster presentation.
