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Coping and support

By Mayo Clinic staff

Finding out your breast cancer has returned can be equally or more stressful than getting the initial diagnosis. The prospect of more disruptions, treatments and uncertainty is stressful. After the initial blow of the diagnosis, many women find their outlook improves. In studies of women with recurrent breast cancer, their quality of life and emotional distress improved significantly six months after their diagnosis.

As you sort through your emotions and make decisions about treatment, the following suggestions might help you cope.

  • Be informed. Learn what you can do for your health right now and about services available to you. Talk with your doctor, family and those you rely on for support about your treatment options and how you want to approach decision making.
  • Get support. Talking with other women who are dealing with recurrent breast cancer can help you on both a practical and an emotional level. Find a support group near you through your doctor, a medical social worker or an organization such as the American Cancer Society. It can also help to express feelings of fear or uncertainty with a friend or counselor.
  • Take time for yourself. Plan ahead for times when you may need more rest. Cut back on time commitments, and don't be afraid to ask for help. Find ways to relax.
  • Learn to live with uncertainty. Try to take in the present moment rather than dwelling on an uncertain future. Use your energy to focus on wellness and finding ways to be peaceful inside yourself.
  • Look for a connection to something beyond yourself. Having a strong faith or a sense of something greater than yourself helps many people cope with cancer.
Prevention Lifestyle and home remedies
References
  1. Oh S et al. Quality of life of breast cancer survivors after a recurrence: A follow-up study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2004; 87:45-57.
  2. Hayes DF. Overview of Treatment for Locally Advanced, Recurrent, and Metastatic Breast Cancer. http://uptodateonline.com/index. Accessed Nov. 12, 2008.
  3. American Cancer Society, Living With Uncertainty: The Fear of Cancer Recurrence. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MLT/content/MLT_4_1x_Living_With_Uncertainty_-_The_Fear_of_Cancer_Recurrence.asp. Accessed May 19, 2009.
  4. Punglia RS et al. Local therapy and survival in breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2007; 356:2399-2405.
  5. UpToDate, Hirsch A, Management of Locoregional Recurrence of Breast Cancer after Breast-Conserving Therapy, July 31, 2007, accessed November 12, 2007, http://uptodateonline.com/utd/content/topic.do?topicKey=breastcn/23524&view=print.
  6. UpToDate, Hirsch A, Management of Locoregional Recurrence of Breast Cancer after Mastectomy, May 10, 2007, accessed November 12, 2007, http://uptodateonline.com/utd/content/topic.do?topicKey=breastcn/28927&view=print.
  7. Debled M et al. Prognostic factors of early distant recurrence in hormone receptor-positive, postmenopausal breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant tamoxifen therapy: Results of a retrospective analysis. Cancer. 2007; 109:2197-2204. Accessed May 19, 2009.  http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/114214630/PDFSTART
  8. Geiger AM et al. Recurrences and second primary breast cancers in older women with initial early-stage disease. Cancer. 2007; 109:966-974. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/114082491/PDFSTART Accessed May 19, 2009.
  9. Freedman GM et al. Identifying breast cancer patients most likely to benefit from aromatase inhibitor therapy after adjuvant radiation and tamoxifen. Cancer. 2006; 107:2552-2558.
  10. Hayes DF et al. Follow-up of patients with early breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2007; 356:2505-2513. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/24/2505. Accessed May 19, 2009.
  11. National Breast Cancer Coalition, Gene-Expression Profile Testing, March 2007, accessed October 30, 2007, http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=161&Itemid=178.
  12. American Cancer Society, Breast Cancer Recurrence Test Gets FDA Nod, February 7, 2007, accessed May 8, 2008, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Breast_Cancer_Recurrence_Test_Gets_FDA_Nod.asp.
  13. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA Clears Breast Cancer Specific Molecular Prognostic Test, February 6, 2007, accessed October 5, 2007, http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01555.html.
  14. Buchanan CL, Locoregional Recurrence after Mastectomy: Incidence and Outcomes, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, October 2006, 469-474.
  15. Coombes RC, Survival and Safety of Exemestane versus Tamoxifen after 2-3 Years' Tamoxifen (Intergroup Exemestane Study): A Randomised Controlled Trial, The Lancet, February 17, 2007, 559-570.
  16. Thiebaut ACM, Dietary Fat and Breast Cancer: Contributions From a Survival Trial, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, December 20, 2006, 1753-1755.
  17. Pierce JP, Influence of a Diet Very High in Vegetables, Fruit, and Fiber and Low in Fat on Prognosis Following Treatment for Breast Cancer: The Women's Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Randomized Trial, JAMA, July 18, 2007, 289-298.

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May 27, 2009

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