Fear of Cancer Recurrence and associated factors among breast cancer survivors in South India

Objective Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR) is a universal phenomenon widely reported as an unmet need among cancer survivors. The present study aims to determine the patterns of FCR and its associated factors among breast cancer survivors in South India. Methods A longitudinal study was carried out with pre and post-assessment. Results Two hundred and forty eight breast cancer survivors (BCSv) were included in the study. The main finding for the pre versus post-study was the pattern of mean scores. It is observed that in all factors, the pre-mean scores were steadily higher than the post-mean scores the predictors for FCR scores were decrease of age (p = 0.016), BCSv living in joint family (p = 0.008) and who were self-funded (p = 0.031). Conclusions FCR was a relatively common symptom reported by BCSv. The predictors for FCR were younger age, BCSv living in a joint family and who were self-funding for their treatment. In the pre and post-assessment, it could be concluded that BCSv has reported that the overall FCR and on other variables higher FCR mean scores were reported during the preassessment period.

Automated summary

The fear of cancer recurrence is a common concern among breast cancer survivors, and predictors include younger age, living in a joint family, and self-funding for treatment.