21 October 2009
Breast cancer sufferers who are well-educated and live alone are most likely to be hardest hit by their illness according to a new study by the Monash University Medical School's Women's Health Program.
The findings have been announced to coincide with October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Lead researchers Professor Susan Davis and Associate Professor Robin Bell found that educated women were more likely to seek additional information about their condition and their increased understanding about their illness could lead to higher anxiety levels.
"Until now there has been very little research into the health and well being of women with breast cancer and what impact the diagnosis had on their overall mood," Professor Davis said.
"We found that women who lived alone generally had more time to spend contemplating and researching their illness. Two years post-diagnosis, women with breast cancer were not more likely to be depressed but were more likely to experience a lowered sense of control over their life, and lower general health, with lessened vitality being limited to older women.
"The experience of having breast cancer is a personal one and is often accompanied by very complex emotions due to the fact that it strikes at a woman's very sense of self, purpose and sexuality."
Co-chief investigator of the study Associate Professor Robin Bell said that women living alone were more likely to have a lower sense of wellbeing is a novel and important finding and would suggest that those women may benefit by targeted social support programs.
Professor Davis encouraged health care providers to be sensitive to the fact that more highly educated women may deal less well with psychological aspects of their disease than others.
"It is time that general practitioners and specialists provided a level of care that went beyond the physical diagnosis and treatment. The study shows women need extra support during and post-treatment and their condition needs to be treated with a holistic approach -- their mental and emotional wellbeing is paramount to a stronger recovery," Professor Davis said.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Australia, affecting one in nine women by the age of 85 years, and is responsible for around 2,600 deaths annually. With improvements in detection and treatment of breast cancer, 87 per cent of women affected survive five years or more from the time of detection.
The MBF Foundation Health and Wellbeing after Breast Cancer Study, undertaken by Monash University Medical School's Women's Health Program, is following 1,700 breast cancer survivors to determine the physical, psychosocial and socio-economic issues influencing the quality of life of women post breast cancer diagnosis. For more information visit the Women's Health Program website.
For more information please contact Samantha Blair, Media and Communication + 61 3 9903 4841 or +61 439 013 951.
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