Care and Adjustment of Elderly Breast Cancer Patients

Threatt, Barbara

Abstract

Two complementary studies that focus on the management of breast cancer in elderly women and their social and psychological adjustment to the disease are proposed. In both studies, the direct influence of patterns of primary and secondary treatment upon health and psychological functioning will be investigated, along with medical conditions that influence management. In addition, the intervening effects of patients' social support resources, coping and defense mechanisms on adjustment will be examined. The first study is based on a population of 10,056 women screened for breast cancer between 1974-81 as part of the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project (BCDDP). A total of 320 women will be interviewed: 160 women who developed breast cancer, half of whom are above 55 years of age, and also 160 women from an age-matched control group who were screened by the program but did not develop the disease. The second study is a 3-wave, 8-month longitudinal study of a panel of 120 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, (half above 55 years of age) from three large local hospitals. In both studies, the husband or other significant other will also be interviewed. The two proposed studies complement each other with respect to the design: one is a comparative study, with an age-matched control group of women without the disease. This design permits the identification of the effects of the disease vs. the effects of age on well-being and quality of life. The other study employs a longitudinal panel design that permits causal analyses regarding the process of adjustment to the disease following diagnosis. The two studies also complement each other with respect to the population and stage of disease: one involves a screening population characterized by early stage diseases, the other a clinical population characterized by more advanced disease.