New Study Finds Usual Care Enough to Promote the Well Adjustment to Early Breast Cancer
The findings have significant implications regarding the process of breast cancer survivorship, says Sherman. More research is needed to understand the long-term physical, emotional, and social issues experienced by women as they enter the phase termed “survivorship” and the ongoing process of healing and adjustment, she says.
“Clearly, adjustment to breast cancer does not end with the completion of medical treatment, as some women continue to live with physical and emotional symptoms and experience uncertainty about their future.
What is early breast cancer?
Early breast cancer is invasive cancer that is contained in the breast and may or may not have spread to lymph nodes in the breast or armpit. Some cancer cells may have spread outside the breast and armpit area but cannot be detected.
Breast cancer can occur at any age. The average age of women when they are diagnosed with breast cancer is 64 years. However, around one-quarter of women diagnosed with breast cancer are younger than 50 years.
Early breast cancer can be treated successfully, and most women diagnosed and treated for early breast cancer will not die from the breast cancer disease.
The good news is that the comprehensive support offered today as the standard of care, and most likely the opportunity for women to obtain support through the Internet and various support groups, is enough to promote breast cancer adjustment with or without additional interventions,” Sherman says.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, the College of Nursing at New York University (NYU), NYU Hospital Centers, Biomedical Statistical Consulting at NYU, the NYU University Cancer Center, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
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Source: University of Maryland