Post-traumatic symptoms, emotional distress and quality of life in long-term survivors of breast cancer: a preliminary research

The present study is a preliminary study assessing long-term psychological effects in survivors of breast cancer. Thirty-nine long-term female survivors of breast cancer were compared with 39 matched women who had not been exposed to any chronic disease regarding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), quality of life (QoL), emotional distress and coping styles. Survivors revealed significantly higher rates of full and partial PTSD, scored significantly higher on emotional distress, scored significantly lower on physical and psychological QoL and exhibited coping styles significantly different from those of the control group. PTSD was associated with the coping style of suppression. Multiple regression analysis showed that receiving chemotherapy and disease stage, as well as the interaction between chemotherapy and disease stage, were significant predictors of hyperarousal. The findings show that post-traumatic symptoms are a common sequel after recovery from cancer. Furthermore, findings suggest a conceptual distinction between PTSD symptoms and QoL in the study of long-term effects of cancer. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.