Some women worry too much about breast cancer returning, U-M study finds
Most women face only a small risk of breast cancer coming back after they complete their treatment. Yet a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds that nearly half of Latinas who speak little English expressed a great deal of worry about recurrence. "Some worry about cancer recurrence is understandable. But for some women, these worries can be so strong that they impact their treatment decisions, symptom reporting and screening behaviors, and overall quality of life," says study author Nancy K. Janz, Ph.D., professor of health behavior and health education at the U-M School of Public Health.
The researchers found substantial variation based on racial or ethnic background, with Latinas who speak primarily Spanish expressing the most worry and African-Americans expressing the least worry. For Latinas, the researchers considered acculturation, a measure of how much a person is integrated into American society. For Latinas, a significant factor is whether they speak primarily English or Spanish.
While 46 percent of Latinas who spoke primarily Spanish reported they worry "very much" about recurrence, that number drops to 25 percent for Latinas who speak primarily English, 14 percent for white women and 13 percent for African-Americans.
On the other hand, about 29 percent of African-American women said they were not at all worried about recurrence, while only 10 percent of Latinas who spoke little English did.
Researchers from the Cancer Surveillance and Outcomes Research Team, a multidisciplinary collaboration among five centers across the country, surveyed 1,837 women in Detroit and Los Angeles who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Results appear in the April 1 issue of Cancer.
In addition, researchers found that women who reported understanding information better, receiving more help with their symptoms and receiving more coordinated care were less likely to worry about recurrence.
Previous studies suggested women are frequently dissatisfied with the information they receive about their recurrence risk. The current study's authors highlight the need to provide better counseling about recurrence.
"The challenge is to ensure women are aware of the signs of recurrence while not increasing anxious preoccupation with excessive worry. How much women worry about recurrence is often not aligned with their actual risk for cancer recurrence," Janz says.
"We need to better understand the factors that increase the likelihood women will worry and develop strategies to help women with excessive worry. Programs to assist women must be culturally sensitive and tailored to differences in communication style, social support and coping strategies," she adds.
Source: University of Michigan Health System
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
- Certain breast cancer patients worry excessively about recurrence Mon, 28 Mar 2011, 8:02:23 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