Survivor centrality among breast cancer survivors: implications for well‐being

Abstract

Objective-The goal of this research was to examine the extent to which 10-year breast cancer survivors integrated cancer into their self-concept (i.e., survivor centrality), identify predictors of survivor centrality, and determine the relation of survivor centrality to well-being.Methods-Breast cancer survivors (n = 240) were interviewed 10 years following the initial diagnosis. They completed measures of survivor centrality, illness valence (i.e., positive or negative views of illness), and well-being (positive and negative affect, mental and physical functioning, psychological distress, benefit-finding).Results-There were few predictors of the kinds of women who were more likely to integrate breast cancer into their self-concepts, but survivor centrality was related to engaging in behaviors that suggested survivorship was relevant to women's daily lives, such as becoming involved in breast cancer activities. Survivor centrality was related to three markers of negative psychological well-being: more negative affect, poorer mental functioning, and greater psychological distress. However, in the case of negative affect and psychological distress, this relation was moderated by illness valence, such that survivor centrality was only related to negative psychological well-being when the illness was viewed in less positive terms.Conclusions-Women vary in the extent to which they define themselves in terms of the breast cancer experience. Survivor centrality in and of itself is not always indicative of adjustment to disease. When women have a more negative view of being a breast cancer survivor, survivor centrality is more likely to signify potential problems. Keywords breast cancer; survivorship; self-concept; well-being Scientists in the area of psycho-oncology have been studying women's adjustment to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer for several decades now (1-4). With the improvement in early detection procedures and the development of more effective treatments, the prognosis for breast cancer has improved dramatically. Thus, researchers have begun to examine survivorship issues. Whereas most studies show that survivors, on average, do not show elevated levels of general distress, such as anxiety or depression, compared to healthy controls or population norms (5-7), moderate levels of cancer-specific worries persist (8). General quality of life measures do not capture the subtleties in long-term survivorship (7). With time, stress related to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer diminishes and some of the memories associated with the trauma wane, but other sources of stress persist. Survivorship issues have centered on fears of recurrence, the long-term effects of treatment, concerns Please address all correspondence to the author at Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 or vh2e@andrew.cmu.edu. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptPsychooncology. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 May 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscrip...

The Meaning of Survivorship as Defined by African American Breast Cancer Survivors

“…The meaning of survivorship may be based on a woman's age, life experiences, disease, ethnicity, or sociocultural background. While the literature is abundant with narratives of Caucasian breast cancer survivors (Documet, Trauth, Key, Flatt, & Jernigan, 2012;Helgeson, 2011;Morris, Campbell, Dwyer, Dunn, & Chambers, 2011;Pieters & Heilemann, 2011;Stanton et al, 2002), there remains a dearth of literature on AABCS. Pieters and Heilemann (2011) explored the concept of cancer survivor and cancer survivorship among 18 female breast cancer survivors from 70 to 94 years of age.…”

“…More important, they indicated that while survivorship is an individualized journey, nurses and other members of the health care team may need a better understanding of the definition of cancer survivorship and its meaning as a precursor to providing culturally competent care. Helgeson (2011) examined the concept of survivor centrality to determine if the meaning of cancer was central to the breast cancer survivors' identity. Survivors were asked to state how they saw themselves.…”

Apresentação

“…Além dos aspectos citados o tratamento antineoplásico por si só promove efeitos colaterais como fadiga, distresse, alteração da densidade mineral óssea, cardiotoxicidade, deficits cognitivos, medo de recorrência, infertilidade, linfedema, dentre outros (Siegel, Naishadham, & Jemal, 2013). Que podem ter repercussões físicas, como também psicossociais, e perdurar por meses e até anos após o fim do tratamento (Bower, & Lamkin, 2013;Goedendorp et al, 2012;Helgeson, 2013;Hofsø, Rustøen, Cooper, Bjordal, & Miaskowski, 2013;Kim, Barsevick, Beck, & Dudley, 2012;Lai, Garcia, Salsman, Rosenbloom, & Cella, 2012).…”

Women with breast cancer: Embracing and distancing themselves from the term cancer survivor

“…However, few studies have been designed to include women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and analyze their perceptions of the breast cancer culture [25][26][27][28][29][30] . Even fewer studies have been focused on these women's feelings towards the term cancer survivor [12,31,32] .…”

“…Of these three studies, Helgeson's [32] work was quantitative and was not designed to ask women open-ended questions about the term cancer survivor, whereas Document et al's [31] and Kaiser's [12] works were qualitative in nature and specific questions were asked of the women about their perceptions toward this term.…”