Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Worry about recurrence in a multi-ethnic population of breast cancer survivors and their partners.

Janz NK, Li Y, Beesley LJ, Wallner LP, Hamilton AS, Morrison RA, Hawley ST. Worry about recurrence in a multi-ethnic population of breast cancer survivors and their partners. Supportive Care in Cancer : Official Journal of The Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. 2016 Nov 1; 24(11):4669-78.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study are to describe racial/ethnic differences and clinical/treatment correlates of worry about recurrence and examine modifiable factors in the health care experience to reduce worry among breast cancer survivors, partners, and pairs. METHODS: Women with non-metastatic breast cancer identified by the Detroit and Los Angeles SEER registries between 6/05 and 2/07 were surveyed at 9 months and 4 years. Latina and Black women were oversampled. Partners were surveyed at time 2. Worry about recurrence was regressed on sociodemographics, clinical/treatment, and modifiable factors (e.g., emotional support received by providers) among survivors, partners, and pairs. RESULTS: The final sample included 510 pairs. Partners reported more worry about recurrence than survivors. Compared to Whites, Latinas(os) were more likely to report worry and Blacks were less likely to report worry (all p  <  0.05). Partners of survivors who received chemotherapy reported more worry (OR  =  2.47 [1.45, 4.22]). Among modifiable factors, survivors and pairs who received more emotional support from providers were less likely to report worry than those survivors and pairs who did not receive such support (OR  =  0.56 [0.32, 0.97]) and (OR  =  0.45 [0.23,0.85]), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Early identification of survivors and partners who are reporting considerable worry about recurrence can lead to targeted culturally sensitive interventions to avoid poorer outcomes. Interventions focused on health care providers offering information on risk and emotional support to survivors and partners is warranted.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.