TY - JOUR
T1 - Coping with Recurrent Breast Cancer
T2 - Predictors of Distressing Symptoms and Health-Related Quality of Life
AU - Kenne Sarenmalm, Elisabeth
AU - Öhlén, Joakim
AU - Jonsson, Tommy
AU - Gaston-Johansson, Fannie
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the Western Region Research and Development Unit, Sweden.
PY - 2007/7
Y1 - 2007/7
N2 - Little is known about how postmenopausal women with recurrent breast cancer cope with distressing symptoms and which factors predict health-related quality of life (HRQOL). In the present study, 56 consecutively enrolled patients completed questionnaires measuring symptom occurrence, coping capacity, coping efforts, and HRQOL at the time of recurrence. Results from this study illustrate that women with recurrent breast cancer suffer from multiple, concurrent, and interrelated symptoms of illness, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Highly prevalent symptoms are lack of energy, difficulty sleeping, pain, worrying, problems with sexual interest, feeling sad, and dry mouth. The most frequently occurring symptom is problem with sexual interest, and the most severe symptom is worrying. The most distressing symptom experienced is pain. The majority of the women report 10-23 symptoms. Women who experience multiple symptoms also report higher levels of symptom distress. The experience of distressing symptoms is predicted by coping capacity, and the coping efforts experienced predict HRQOL. Patients with lower coping capacity report higher prevalence of symptoms, experience higher levels of distress, and experience worse perceived health, which in turn may decrease their HRQOL. To help women manage recurrent breast cancer, it is important to use multidimensional measurement to identify, evaluate, and treat distressing symptoms, and not assess single symptoms only. Care must be based upon the awareness of critical factors that exacerbate vulnerability to distress, as well as the ability to adapt to a recurrent breast cancer disease.
AB - Little is known about how postmenopausal women with recurrent breast cancer cope with distressing symptoms and which factors predict health-related quality of life (HRQOL). In the present study, 56 consecutively enrolled patients completed questionnaires measuring symptom occurrence, coping capacity, coping efforts, and HRQOL at the time of recurrence. Results from this study illustrate that women with recurrent breast cancer suffer from multiple, concurrent, and interrelated symptoms of illness, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Highly prevalent symptoms are lack of energy, difficulty sleeping, pain, worrying, problems with sexual interest, feeling sad, and dry mouth. The most frequently occurring symptom is problem with sexual interest, and the most severe symptom is worrying. The most distressing symptom experienced is pain. The majority of the women report 10-23 symptoms. Women who experience multiple symptoms also report higher levels of symptom distress. The experience of distressing symptoms is predicted by coping capacity, and the coping efforts experienced predict HRQOL. Patients with lower coping capacity report higher prevalence of symptoms, experience higher levels of distress, and experience worse perceived health, which in turn may decrease their HRQOL. To help women manage recurrent breast cancer, it is important to use multidimensional measurement to identify, evaluate, and treat distressing symptoms, and not assess single symptoms only. Care must be based upon the awareness of critical factors that exacerbate vulnerability to distress, as well as the ability to adapt to a recurrent breast cancer disease.
KW - Recurrent breast cancer
KW - coping capacity
KW - coping efforts
KW - health-related quality of life
KW - symptom distress
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.10.017
DO - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.10.017
M3 - Article
C2 - 17544244
AN - SCOPUS:34250885746
SN - 0885-3924
VL - 34
SP - 24
EP - 39
JO - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
JF - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
IS - 1
ER -