More Americans are surviving cancer, but many face lasting psychological effects that go unaddressed

The number of Americans surviving cancer has grown substantially, but many survivors leave treatment without adequate mental health support, according to reporting by NPR in partnership with Iowa Public Radio and KFF Health News. A national survey by Cancer Nation, an advocacy group, found that roughly one-third of survivors who had finished treatment reported anxiety about recurrence and difficulty "not feeling like their old self," while only one in five had seen a mental health professional.

Morgan Newman, a Des Moines, Iowa resident who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at age 24 in 2015, described the psychological toll that persisted well beyond her treatment. After completing six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy and clearing additional scans, Newman found herself struggling with anxiety about recurrence, grief over infertility caused by her radiation treatment, and a sense of being left behind as peers reached life milestones. "My friends were getting married, they were having children, you know, progressing in their lives and their careers, and I just felt stuck," she said.

Financial and logistical barriers compounded the challenge. Newman, who had been in therapy for anxiety and depression before her diagnosis, was forced to stop during treatment because mounting medical bills made it unaffordable. She was able to resume therapy only in 2017, when a new job provided better health benefits — roughly two years into her recovery.