Abstract P2-12-04: "The curriculum for recovery," a five week educational and experiential support group for breast cancer survivorship recovery
Authors: Fisher Robert E , Stenhouse Marianne , Lai-O'Connell Anh 
Published: May 2015

Introduction:

Breast cancer survivors benefit from supportive, professionally facilitated group discussions to assist their individual recovery from treatment and place their cancer in a life perspective. We have developed a multi-session group discussion to aid survivors in this path of recovery.

Materials and Methods:

The Pink Ribbon Survivors Network (www.PinkRibbonSurvivorsNetwork.org) has developed an online library for breast cancer survivors titled, "The Curriculum for Recovery." This library contains professionally vetted online articles in 19 categories related to survivorship issues facing breast cancer survivors. The library houses over 400 articles, in total. We have developed a 5 session program of discussion for breast cancer survivors integrating this library resource as a basis for discussion material.

The 5 sessions are titled: 1.) Physical Recovery and New Adjustments, 2.) Nurturing Yourself: The Importance of Self-Care 3.) Fostering Positive Relationships, 4.) Understanding your Emotions: Doubt and Hope in Survivorship, and 5.) Prioritizing, Leaving Your Legacy, Moving Forward.

Each session draws from specific categories of the Curriculum for Recovery Library. Participants are asked to read specific articles from the online library in preparation for group discussion. The 5 sessions lead the participants from the issue of immediate physical recovery to gaining a philosophic life perspective on the impact of breast cancer in their lives.

Results:

Website usage: Since its inception in July, 2012, the website's resources have been accessed from 2300 cities in 128 countries. It's libraries have been viewed 9,000 times, tallying over 30,000 page views. The Survivors' online library hosts information in 19 different categories. Separate online libraries specialize in clinical literature for cancer care professionals and primary care professionals.

During registration for this group, participants will be asked about coping issues, and their goals in this group participation. Feedback after each session will be obtained. We intend to develop a manual for professional facilitators to use in order to be able to facilitate similar groups in their center. This manual will be available online within our website's libraries.

Discussion:

Studies have shown that breast cancer survivors benefit from group participation for support, education and discussion during their breast cancer recovery. We have developed a multi-session group discussion program that can be replicated free of charge at any location, utilizing the online resource noted here, along with the comprehensive facilitator's guidelines. This program is designed to bring survivors from initial issues of early recovery to gaining a broad perspective of how breast cancer has affected the individual's life and her future. This program is well represented in a brief live presentation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium that will be illustrative of its value to breast cancer survivors, and the ease of replication at other locations.

Citation Format: Robert E Fisher, Marianne Stenhouse, Anh Lai-O'Connell. "The curriculum for recovery," a five week educational and experiential support group for breast cancer survivorship recovery [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-12-04.