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Singer S, Blettner M, Kreienberg R, et al. Breast Cancer Patients' Fear of Treatment: Results from the Multicenter Longitudinal Study BRENDA II. Breast Care (Basel). 2015;10(2):95-100doi: 10.1159/000381933.
Singer, S., Blettner, M., Kreienberg, R., Janni, W., Wöckel, A., Kühn, T., Felberbaum, R., Flock, F., Schwentner, L. (2015). Breast Cancer Patients' Fear of Treatment: Results from the Multicenter Longitudinal Study BRENDA II. Breast care (Basel, Switzerland), 10(2), 95-100. https://doi.org/10.1159/000381933
Singer, Susanne, et al. "Breast Cancer Patients' Fear of Treatment: Results from the Multicenter Longitudinal Study BRENDA II." Breast care (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 10,2 (2015): 95-100. doi: https://doi.org/10.1159/000381933
Singer S, Blettner M, Kreienberg R, Janni W, Wöckel A, Kühn T, Felberbaum R, Flock F, Schwentner L. Breast Cancer Patients' Fear of Treatment: Results from the Multicenter Longitudinal Study BRENDA II. Breast Care (Basel). 2015 Apr;10(2):95-100. doi: 10.1159/000381933. PMID: 26195937; PMCID: PMC4463787.
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Breast Care (Basel). 2015 Apr;10(2):95-100. doi: 10.1159/000381933.

Breast Cancer Patients' Fear of Treatment: Results from the Multicenter Longitudinal Study BRENDA II.

Breast care (Basel, Switzerland)

Susanne Singer, Maria Blettner, Rolf Kreienberg, Wolfgang Janni, Achim Wöckel, Thorsten Kühn, Ricardo Felberbaum, Felix Flock, Lukas Schwentner,

Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
  2. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Ulm, Germany.
  3. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Würzburg, Germany.
  4. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Esslingen, Germany.
  5. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Kempten, Germany.
  6. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Memmingen, Germany.

PMID: 26195937 PMCID: PMC4463787 DOI: 10.1159/000381933

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Fear of cancer treatment can become overwhelming. It is important to understand what patients are mainly afraid of and what factors are correlated with intense fear of treatment.

METHODS: Patients with primary breast cancer (n = 761) completed questionnaires about fear of treatment before surgery (t1), and before (t2) and after (t3) adjuvant treatment. Psychological comorbidity was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire. Logistic regression identified predictors of intense fear of treatment.

RESULTS: Patients were most afraid of chemotherapy (mean score 3.5), and fear remained high throughout follow-up; fear of radiotherapy and of surgery was lower and decreased over time (from 2.7 to 2.2, p < 0.0001; and from 2.6 to 2.2, p < 0.0001, respectively). Patients with psychological co-morbidity (odds ratios (OR) 1.7-3.0) and those who had heard reports of negative experiences with cancer treatments from others (OR 3.8-16.2) were more likely to have intense fear of all the treatments. Patients with a previous cancer less often expressed fear of surgery (OR 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.4-1.0).

CONCLUSION: Fear of treatment, especially of chemotherapy, is prevalent in many patients with primary breast cancer. Patients with psychological co-morbidity and those who have heard reports of negative experiences with cancer treatment are at higher risk of experiencing intense fear.

Keywords: Anxiety; Breast neoplasms; Fear; Oncology; Prospective studies

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