ObjectiveThere is a dearth of literature describing young adult (YA) cancer survivors' experiences with cancer‐related cognitive impairment (CRCI). We aimed to elucidate CRCI among YA cancer survivors and identify potentially modifiable risk factors.MethodsWe conducted individual qualitative interviews with YA cancer survivors aged 18–30 years at study enrollment and used applied thematic analysis to identify themes across three topics (i.e., affected cognitive abilities, risk and protective factors influencing the impact of CRCI, and strategies for coping with CRCI).ResultsYA cancer survivors (N = 20) were, on average, 23 years old at diagnosis and 26 years old when interviewed. Diverse cancer types and treatments were represented; most participants (85%) had completed cancer treatment. Participants described experiences across three qualitative topics: (1) affected cognitive abilities (i.e., concentration and attention, prospective memory, and long‐term memory), (2) Risk factors (i.e., fatigue, sleep problems, mood, stress/distractions, and social isolation) and protective factors (i.e., social support), and (3) coping strategies, including practical strategies that helped build self‐efficacy (e.g., writing things down, reducing distractions), beneficial emotion‐focused coping strategies (e.g., focus on health, faith/religion), strategies with mixed effects (i.e., apps/games, medications/supplements, and yoga), and “powering through” strategies that exacerbated stress.ConclusionsYA cancer survivors experience enduring cognitive difficulties after treatment. Specific concerns highlight the importance of attention and executive functioning impairments, long‐term memory recall, and sensitivity to distractions. Future work is needed to improve assessment and treatment of CRCI among YA cancer survivors.

中文翻译：

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“我无法连接我大脑中的电线。” 年轻成年癌症幸存者的认知功能体验

目的 缺乏描述年轻成人 (YA) 癌症幸存者癌症相关认知障碍 (CRCI) 经历的文献。我们的目的是阐明 YA 癌症幸存者中的 CRCI 并确定潜在的可改变的危险因素。方法我们对研究入组时年龄 18-30 岁的 YA 癌症幸存者进行了个人定性访谈，并使用应用主题分析来确定三个主题的主题（即受影响的认知能力） 、影响CRCI影响的风险和保护因素以及应对CRCI的策略）。结果YA癌症幸存者（氮= 20) 诊断时平均年龄 23 岁，接受采访时平均年龄 26 岁。代表了不同的癌症类型和治疗方法；大多数参与者（85%）已完成癌症治疗。参与者描述了三个定性主题的经历：(1) 受影响的认知能力（即注意力和注意力、前瞻性记忆和长期记忆），(2) 风险因素（即疲劳、睡眠问题、情绪、压力/分心、和社会隔离）和保护因素（即社会支持），以及（3）应对策略，包括帮助建立自我效能的实用策略（例如，写下事情，减少干扰），有益的以情绪为中心的应对策略（例如，关注健康、信仰/宗教）、具有混合效果的策略（即应用程序/游戏、药物/补充剂和瑜伽）以及加剧压力的“通过力量”策略。 结论 青少年癌症幸存者在治疗后会经历持久的认知困难。具体问题强调了注意力和执行功能障碍、长期记忆回忆以及对干扰的敏感性的重要性。未来需要开展工作来改进 YA 癌症幸存者中 CRCI 的评估和治疗。