Conclusion:
The person-time approach used in this study is more revealing than a simple enumeration of cancer survivors and hospital admissions. Hospital activity among cancer survivors is highest soon after diagnosis. The effect of age on the amount of hospital activity is different for each type of cancer.
...........This paper highlights the significant effect that time since diagnosis has on the average amount of hospitalisation experienced by cancer survivors. The majority of cancer-related admitted hospital episodes of care occurred in the first year following diagnosis (when initial cancer treatment takes place); however, there was also a significant amount of hospital activity in the period 1–5 years after diagnosis, particularly among survivors of colorectal and lung cancers, which is indicative of the ongoing consequences of cancer and its treatment. Other work has shown that the final year before death also contains significant amounts of hospitalisation of cancer survivors (Maddams et al, 2011). These findings help to understand the burden of cancer on the health service, but further work is still required to identify potential areas of unmet needs among cancer survivors.
