Mortimer also is working on a study that examines the quality of life of breast cancer patients from a psychosocial standpoint. With funding from a National Institutes of Health grant, Mortimer is looking at where women with breast cancer get support. To find this out, she has organized four focus groups of 10 women each. The women are being followed from diagnosis through the end of treatment. Along the way, they are asked how they cope with breast cancer and about their greatest source of strength.
Support comes instead from other breast cancer patients.
Families, researchers are finding, focus on the horrors surrounding the loss of breasts. Family members also are crippled by their fears of possibly losing a wife, sister, mother or daughter. The next phase of the study will look at how family members can become more supportive. In addition to her clinical and research activities, Mortimer is co-chair of the Missouri Cancer Pain Initiative, a diverse group of people interested in the psychological, financial and social aspects of pain in cancer patients. Made up of physicians, social workers, pastors and pharmacists, the group meets four times a year to discuss the complicated topic of pain.