Certain breast cancer patients worry excessively about recurrence
A new study has found that certain types of women with early stage breast cancer are vulnerable to excessive worrying about cancer recurrence. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study also indicates that worrying about cancer recurrence can compromise patients' medical care and quality of life. Thanks to recent medical advances, most women who are diagnosed with early stage breast cancer have a low risk for cancer recurrence. Despite an optimistic future, many of these women report that they worry that their cancer will come back. While some worry about cancer recurrence is understandable, for some women these worries can be so strong that they have an impact on what treatments women choose, how often they seek care, and their quality of life as cancer survivors.
Nancy Janz, PhD, of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor led a study that investigated whether worry about recurrence was related to race and ethnicity, acculturation (the process by which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and behaviors of another group), clinical and treatment factors, and how women viewed their experience in the health care system while being treated for breast cancer. The researchers studied 2,290 women with non-metastatic breast cancer who were diagnosed from June 2005 to February 2007 and reported to Detroit or Los Angeles cancer registries. A patient's level of worry was determined by assessing her concern about cancer returning to the same breast, the other breast, and spreading to other parts of the body.
Dr. Janz and her team found that women who had greater ease in understanding clinical information that was presented to them, who experienced fewer symptoms, and who received more coordinated care reported less worry about recurrence. Less acculturated Latina breast cancer patients were particularly vulnerable to high levels of worry, while African American patients had significantly less worry than other races. Other factors that were associated with more worry were being younger, being employed, experiencing more pain and fatigue, and undergoing radiation treatment.
"How much women worry about recurrence is often not aligned with their actual risk for cancer recurrence," said Dr. Janz. "We need to better understand the factors that increase the likelihood that women will worry and develop strategies and appropriate referrals to help women with excessive worry," she added. Dr. Janz noted that programs to assist women must be culturally sensitive and tailored to patients' differences in communication style, social support, and coping strategies. She also stressed the importance of appropriately presenting risk information to women with breast cancer so that they can understand their risk and effectively participate in treatment decisions.
Source: Wiley-Blackwell
Articles on the same topic
- Physical health scores predict breast cancer outcomesWed, 6 Apr 2011, 12:37:28 UTC
- Soy isoflavones not a risk for breast cancer survivorsTue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:36:19 UTC
- Fox Chase researchers show vitamin A derivative can inhibit early forms of breast cancer Tue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:36:17 UTC
- Extreme weight gain raises risk for recurrence among breast cancer survivorsTue, 5 Apr 2011, 12:36:27 UTC
- Genomic signature in post-menopausal women may explain why pregnancy reduces breast cancer risk Tue, 5 Apr 2011, 12:36:26 UTC
- Large weight gain raises risk for recurrence among breast cancer survivorsTue, 5 Apr 2011, 12:36:24 UTC
- Study confirms genetic differences in breast tissue among racesMon, 4 Apr 2011, 15:35:38 UTC
- Young women with breast cancer have little fertility knowledge: SurveyMon, 4 Apr 2011, 15:08:07 UTC
- 2 sets of genes predict response to lung cancer drugMon, 4 Apr 2011, 14:36:25 UTC
- Breast milk may provide a personalized screen of breast cancer riskMon, 4 Apr 2011, 13:05:52 UTC
- Smoking did not influence breast cancer risk among obese womenSun, 3 Apr 2011, 20:36:33 UTC
- Many US women have children by more than one manFri, 1 Apr 2011, 17:34:44 UTC
- Pilot study examines stress, anxiety and needs of young women with a unique breast cancerThu, 31 Mar 2011, 20:03:11 UTC
- Some women worry too much about breast cancer returning, U-M study findsMon, 28 Mar 2011, 8:02:21 UTC
Other sources
- Physical health scores predict breast cancer outcomesfrom PhysorgWed, 6 Apr 2011, 13:01:12 UTC
- Large Weight Gain May Harm Breast Cancer Survivorsfrom Live ScienceWed, 6 Apr 2011, 1:00:30 UTC
- Soy isoflavones not a risk for breast cancer survivors, study findsfrom Science DailyTue, 5 Apr 2011, 20:26:22 UTC
- Soy isoflavones not a risk for breast cancer survivorsfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:31:16 UTC
- Vitamin A derivative can inhibit early forms of breast cancerfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:31:15 UTC
- Human-like milk made by GM cowsfrom CBC: HealthTue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:30:45 UTC
- Breast milk may harbor cancer cluesfrom Sciencenews.orgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 16:40:16 UTC
- Cows produce version of human breast milkfrom CBSNews - ScienceTue, 5 Apr 2011, 16:33:07 UTC
- Large weight gain raises risk for recurrence among breast cancer survivorsfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 14:01:14 UTC
- Genomic signature in post-menopausal women may explain why pregnancy reduces breast cancer riskfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 14:00:59 UTC
- Human-like milk made by GM cowsfrom CBC: Technology & ScienceTue, 5 Apr 2011, 14:00:21 UTC
- Extreme weight gain raises risk for recurrence among breast cancer survivorsfrom Science DailyTue, 5 Apr 2011, 13:30:26 UTC
- Genomic signature in post-menopausal women may explain why pregnancy reduces breast cancer riskfrom Science DailyTue, 5 Apr 2011, 13:30:22 UTC
- Genetically modified cows producing human breast milkfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 12:04:36 UTC
- Breast Milk May Hint at Breast Cancer Riskfrom Live ScienceTue, 5 Apr 2011, 6:30:14 UTC
- Cows produce version of human breast milkfrom CBSNews - ScienceMon, 4 Apr 2011, 21:00:53 UTC
- Cow milk closely mimics that of human breastfrom MSNBC: ScienceMon, 4 Apr 2011, 19:30:32 UTC
- Genetically Modified Cows Produce Milk Akin To Human Milkfrom PopSciMon, 4 Apr 2011, 18:30:49 UTC
- Young women with breast cancer have little fertility knowledge, Australian survey findsfrom Science DailyMon, 4 Apr 2011, 17:31:42 UTC
- Cows Produce Version of Human Breast Milkfrom Live ScienceMon, 4 Apr 2011, 16:33:10 UTC
- Study confirms genetic differences in breast tissue among racesfrom PhysorgMon, 4 Apr 2011, 15:31:20 UTC
- Breast milk may provide a personalized screen of breast cancer riskfrom Science BlogMon, 4 Apr 2011, 14:31:16 UTC
- Breast milk may provide a personalized screen of breast cancer riskfrom PhysorgMon, 4 Apr 2011, 13:31:00 UTC
- N.S. mothers answer plea for breast milkfrom CBC: HealthMon, 4 Apr 2011, 12:31:03 UTC
- 'Poor' knowledge about breast cancer and fertilityfrom PhysorgMon, 4 Apr 2011, 12:02:56 UTC
- Women missing fertility factsfrom Science AlertMon, 4 Apr 2011, 11:30:42 UTC
- New way to predict breast cancer survival and enhance effectiveness of treatmentfrom Science DailyMon, 4 Apr 2011, 2:30:35 UTC
- Smoking does not influence breast cancer risk among obese women, study suggestsfrom Science DailyMon, 4 Apr 2011, 1:30:21 UTC
- Smoking did not influence breast cancer risk among obese women: studyfrom PhysorgSun, 3 Apr 2011, 21:00:29 UTC
- Weight may affect smokers' breast cancer riskfrom AP HealthSun, 3 Apr 2011, 20:31:06 UTC
- Many US women have children by more than one manfrom Science DailyFri, 1 Apr 2011, 20:32:20 UTC
- Many US women have children by more than one manfrom PhysorgFri, 1 Apr 2011, 17:30:50 UTC
- Pilot study examines stress, anxiety and needs of young women with a unique breast cancerfrom Science DailyThu, 31 Mar 2011, 21:30:44 UTC
- Pilot study examines stress, anxiety and needs of young women with a unique breast cancerfrom PhysorgThu, 31 Mar 2011, 20:00:29 UTC
- The future of breast cancer preventionfrom PhysorgThu, 31 Mar 2011, 12:32:23 UTC
- Some women worry too much about breast cancer returning, study findsfrom Science DailyMon, 28 Mar 2011, 15:30:46 UTC
- Some women worry too much about breast cancer returningfrom Science BlogMon, 28 Mar 2011, 13:30:34 UTC
- Some women worry too much about breast cancer returning, study findsfrom PhysorgMon, 28 Mar 2011, 8:01:04 UTC