“Going back to work after successful cancer treatment isn’t always as easy for patients as they had hoped. Some of them experience what’s known as cognitive impairments. They may struggle with planning, following conversations during meetings, or face other struggles.These issues usually subside after their treatment, but sometimes they may persist. We need to learn more about these impairments as well as recognize the issue and provide new treatment options. To address these needs, we investigated the effectiveness of an online version of a cognitive strategy training program called 'Don’t Rush, Just Plan' (‘Niet Rennen Maar Plannen’). This program included information about topics such as fatigue, information processing, planning, and memory. We also offer patients strategies to manage these challenges in their daily lives. Participants set concrete, measurable goals to work on their specific issues. For my research, we divided them into three groups. We saw progress in achieving goals across all groups, but observed the most significant progress in the group that had access to an extended version of the strategy training, which included guidance from a therapist. I am now working as a psychologist at Skils in North Holland, where I treat people with mood disorders."
Kete Klaver will defend her thesis on September 17.
All research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute is financially supported by KWF Dutch Cancer Society
prof. dr. S.B. Schagen & prof. dr. A.J. van der Beek
S.F.A. Duijts