educational program in younger women who have recently finished treatment for stage i or stage ii breast cancer

Conditions: Breast Neoplasms

Summary: rationale: educational programs may improve coping and quality of life in younger women who have recently been treated for early-stage breast cancer. purpose: to conduct a clinical trial to determine if an educational intervention and a nutritional intervention could enhance physical and psychological functioning among younger women completing treatment for early-stage breast cancer.

objectives: * design, implement, and evaluate an educational intervention and a nutrition education intervention specifically aimed at improving adjustment among younger women who have been newly diagnosed with and treated for stage i or ii breast cancer and who are ending the active phase of treatment. * determine the processes through which the interventions affect quality of life. * assess whether the interventions are differentially effective for different groups of women. * determine how women who decline participation differ from those who participate. * determine the nature and extent of adjustment difficulties, using baseline data, in younger women living in an urban setting who have been treated for early stage breast cancer. * identify personality and situational correlates of individuals who adapt well to early-stage breast cancer diagnosis and treatment and those who do not. outline: this is a randomized study. patients are randomized to 1 of 2 intervention groups or a control condition. * arm i (control group): patients did not undergo any intervention. patients were evaluated at baseline and at 4 and 13 months. * arm ii (breast cancer education group): patients attended a series of approximately 2-hour-long breast cancer education group sessions once a month for 4 months. sessions involved the presentation of information concerning breast cancer, followed by a guided discussion of related topics. sessions topics included: talking with children about cancer, life after diagnosis, relationships/intimacy, and hormones and breast cancer/basic factors of heredity. patients were also given booklets and brochures to read at home. patients were evaluated at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at 9 months after the intervention. * arm iii (nutritional education group): patients attended a series of approximately 2-hour-long nutritional education group sessions once a month for 4 months. sessions involved the presentation of information concerning nutrition, followed by a guided discussion of related topics. session topics included: healthy cupboards, what's cooking, shopping for success, and out on the town. patients were also asked to keep a 4 day record of diet. patients were evaluated at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at 9 months after the intervention.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria (disease characteristics): * diagnosis of breast cancer * stage i or ii disease * no more than 10 positive lymph nodes * first-time diagnosis * under the age of 50 at diagnosis * finished active treatment within the past 2 months * english-speaking only * must live within 30 miles of magee women's hospital, pittsburgh, pennsylvania inclusion criteria (patient characteristics): * female patients only * must be able to communicate exclusion criteria (patient characteristics): * other prior malignancies except skin cancer prior concurrent therapy: * see disease characteristics

Keywords: psychosocial effects of cancer and its treatment stage i breast cancer stage ii breast cancer