| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
|
|---|
| Research Abstract |
BACKGROUND : We have reported that family functioning, especially poor mutual communication, significantly correlated with negative psychological adjustment to cancer among early-stage breast cancer patients. However, only few studies exists that investigate how mental adjustment changes during disease-free period of breast cancer survivors suffering from uncertainty of recurrence risk and how family functioning correlates with those changes.
PURPOSE : To investigate how mental adjustment changes under the influence of diverse psychosocial factors such as family functioning during disease-free period of breast cancer survivors.
METHODS : The subjects were 72 ambulatory breast cancer survivors after mastectomy at the Mammary Gland Dispensary of Hiroshima University Hospital. Documented informed consent for the study was obtained from each patient and her husband. The subjects completed the Mental Adjustment to Cancer scale(MAC), Family Assessment Device(FAD), the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale(SDS), and the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale(SAS) after interval of at least three months (Time 1) and three years later (Time 2). Husbands also completed FAD, SDS, and SAS at Time 1 and Time 2. At Time 2, 55 survivors and their husbands were eligible.
RESULTS : Higher level of patient-perceived family cohesion at Time 1 significantly correlated with less reduction of Fighting Spirit coping at Time 2. Higher level of patient-perceived family communication and less Fatalism coping at Time 1 significantly correlated with less Helplessness/Hopelessness coping at Time 2.
CONCLUSION : A family intervention approach which could support patients' hopeful thinking and diminish fatalistic adjustment, and could facilitate family communication and family cohesion might contribute for maintaining Fighting Spirit coping and reducing Helplessness/Hopelessness coping among breast cancer survivors,
|
