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