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Fear of Cancer Recurrence Among Breast Cancer Survivors

  • Psycho-Oncology and Supportive Care (P Butow, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Breast Cancer Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fear of cancer recurrence, a rational reaction to a future health threat, is often experienced by individuals who have undergone cancer treatment. In this manuscript we review recent research and clinical experience from the field of breast cancer, focusing on fear of recurrence with particular interest in the care process, both in terms of choices that patients make and how to intervene. We have included our own clinical observations arising from working with women who have received breast cancer treatment and are experiencing great fear of cancer recurrence. We found that younger women (pre-menopausal) are particularly vulnerable to such fear and may require special attention. This fear is also implicated in treatment decision-making, especially in selection of prophylactic mastectomy rather than breast conservation. Limited psychological intervention to help manage this fear is currently being investigated.

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Conflict of Interest

Gozde Ozakinci, Aleksandra Sobota, and Gerry Humphris declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, Biological and Medical Sciences Building, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TF, Scotland, UK

    Gozde Ozakinci, Aleksandra Sobota & Gerry Humphris

Authors
  1. Gozde Ozakinci
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  2. Aleksandra Sobota
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  3. Gerry Humphris
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Correspondence to Gozde Ozakinci.

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Ozakinci, G., Sobota, A. & Humphris, G. Fear of Cancer Recurrence Among Breast Cancer Survivors. Curr Breast Cancer Rep 6, 219–225 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12609-014-0153-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12609-014-0153-0

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