principally studies of breast cance...

principally studies of breast cancer survivors have been guarded within the first two years after treatment. scarcely any studies have examined the long-term sequelae of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Kornblith and colleagues ready data from a 20-year follow-up of breast cancer survivors.

The authors identified 194 women who had been treated for early-stage breast cancer and participated in a trial of adjuvant chemotherapy regimens that clos enrollment in 1980 A total of 153 women (79 percent) were available for follow-up Trial participants who declined to be interviewed were more likely to be black, older and older at the time of diagnosis. Interviewees were mailed a packet of take a view of instruments to complete before the telephone interview. These scrutinizes included screening questions for post-traumatic stres disorder, other psychiatric illnesses, quality of life, nausea and vomiting, sexual dysfunction, craft and insurance difficulties, social support, and use of mental health services.

Clinically significant psychologic distress, defined as a score greater than 15 standard deviations above the mean for assessment of cancer-related psychologic, sexual, or socioeconomic difficulties, was at hand in 5 percent of patients at 20 years of follow-up Post-traumatic stres disorder was the mostly commonly reported psychiatric illness, affecting 15 percent of patients. Sexual question at issues that patients attributed to breast cancer treatment were exposeed in 29 percent of the women Patients who were younger at the time of diagnosis were not more likely to report feeling sexually unattractive or to have other sexual vexed questions Employment difficulties related to breast cancer treatment were reported from 13 percent of patients, and 26 percent reported insurance difficulties of the like kind as denial of life insurance and a feeling that they could not change piece of works for fear of losing health coverage. The most numerous common physical problems reported 20 years after treatment were lymphedema (39 percent) and numbnes of hands, chest, or feet (33 percent) Women with post-traumatic stres disorder were more likely to have residual physical symptoms.

ZEPF BILL, MD

Kornblith AB, et al. Long-term adjustment of survivors of early-stage breast carcinoma, 20 years after adjuvant chemotherapy. Cancer August 15 2003;98:679-89

COPYRIGHT 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians

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