edoc

The relationship between illness representations , risk perception and fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors

Freeman-Gibb, Laurie A. and Janz, Nancy K. and Katapodi, Maria C. and Zikmund-Fisher, Brian J. and Northouse, Laurel. (2017) The relationship between illness representations , risk perception and fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors. Psycho-oncology, 26 (9). pp. 1270-1277.

[img] PDF - Published Version
Restricted to Repository staff only

469Kb

Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/56627/

Downloads: Statistics Overview

Abstract

Fear of cancer recurrence, although distinct from distress continues to be under-evaluated, captured, or treated when standard distress scales are used to assess concerns of cancer survivors. We tested a model assessing the association of demographic and clinical factors, illness representations, and perceived risk with fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors.; We recruited 117 breast cancer survivors at least one year after completing breast cancer treatment from Internet discussion boards for this cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study. Participants completed a survey that assessed their level of fear of cancer recurrence as well as their illness representations, perceived risk of recurrence, and demographic and medical characteristics.; Our model explained 62% of the variance in fear of cancer recurrence. Emotional representations (β = .46, p < .01), symptom attribution (β = .21, p < .01), timeline (β = .23, p < .01), and consequences (β = .16, p < .03) were significantly related to fear of recurrence. By contrast, the majority of clinical and demographic variables were not significant contributors to fear of recurrence.; Upon completion of cancer treatment, survivors with more emotional representations of the experience and those who attribute unrelated symptoms to their breast cancer have a higher level of fear of recurrence. Evaluation of these factors during treatment may help mitigate fear of recurrence in the survivorship phase of the breast cancer trajectory. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Faculties and Departments:03 Faculty of Medicine > Departement Public Health > Institut für Pflegewissenschaft
03 Faculty of Medicine > Departement Public Health > Ehemalige Einheiten Public Health > Pflegewissenschaft (Katapodi)
UniBasel Contributors:Katapodi, Maria
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:1057-9249
e-ISSN:1099-1611
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
Related URLs:
Identification Number:
edoc DOI:
Last Modified:15 Feb 2018 11:52
Deposited On:15 Feb 2018 11:52

Repository Staff Only: item control page