Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate interactions in the cancer trajectory of patients with colorectal cancer and their healthcare professionals, with a focus on needs assessment prior to cancer survivorship care. Methods A qualitative ethnographic design guided by interpretive description was employed. Data were generated through 110 h of field observations at a surgical department and two semistructured focus group interviews with ten patients. Symbolic interactionism provided the theoretical lens. Data were analyzed inductively through coding, patterns, and thematic development. Results The analysis generated three interrelated themes: Perceptions on cure over care highlighted that the healthcare system’s prioritization of biomedical outcomes often overshadowed emotional and psychosocial support. Perceptions of communication shaped by efficiency described the ways in which time constraints and fragmented care disrupted the relational continuity. Perceptions of limited emotional support illustrated the profound sense of abandonment that many patients experienced, particularly in the transition from active treatment to life after cancer. Conclusion The study demonstrated that interactions around needs assessment are often shaped by structural and efficiency-driven priorities, leaving patients with limited emotional support. This highlights the critical need for further research aimed at embedding compassionate, patient-centered communication into needs assessment and survivorship care to ensure that patients’ psychosocial as well as biomedical needs are systematically addressed across the cancer trajectory. Implications for Cancer Survivors A future holistic approach toward cancer survivorship care, where emotional and psychosocial well-being of cancer survivors is taken care of, to prevent feelings of abandonment and fear of recurrence.
Witte et al. (Tue,) studied this question.