Current Study

Health Consequences of Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast Cancer Survivors and Partners

Who can participate in the study?

The study is recruiting breast cancer patients and their spouse/partners (are married or in a committed relationship).

Breast cancer patients must have:

Primary diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer.
No previous cancer diagnoses other than basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
Received surgery (e.g., lumpectomy or mastectomy) as part of their treatment.

What is involved in this study?

Surveys online

You and your partner will be asked to complete surveys online asking about your mood, thoughts, quality of life, health behaviors, and relationship quality. These surveys will take approximately 60-75 minutes to complete each time and will occur once every 3-6 months over the next year, for a total of no more than five times through your 2nd anniversary mammogram. In addition, you and your partner will be asked to complete 24-hour diet recall surveys for 3 days throughout the study for a total of five times.

We would also ask you and your partner to complete a brief questionnaire each morning and evening for a period of 21 consecutive days, once near the beginning of the study and once near the middle of the study. Also during these two diary periods, you and your partner will be asked to wear devices to measure sleep and physical activity. In addition, we will track when you take your hormone replacement therapy medication via a pill tracking cap.

Daily monitoring periods

Collection of physiological data

The study will also involve collecting some physiological information from you and your partner (e.g., height, weight, percent body fat and muscle mass, and standard blood draws to obtain lipids, blood sugar, and insulin resistance).

How might I benefit from this study?

Learn about how cancer is affecting your daily life and relationships.
Help health care professionals better understand how patients and their spouses/partners cope with cancer.

Study Timeline

We are recruiting eligible breast cancer patients (and their partners/spouses) between the time of diagnosis and the start of adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy and/or radiation that occurs after surgery).

Diagnosis

Study Entry