The relationship between illness representations, risk perception and fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors

ObjectiveFear of cancer recurrence, although distinct from distress continues to be under-evaluated, captured, or treated when standard distress scales are used to assess concerns of cancer survivors. We tested a model assessing the association of demographic and clinical factors, illness representations, and perceived risk with fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors. MethodsWe recruited 117 breast cancer survivors at least one year after completing breast cancer treatment from Internet discussion boards for this cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study. Participants completed a survey that assessed their level of fear of cancer recurrence as well as their illness representations, perceived risk of recurrence, and demographic and medical characteristics. ResultsOur model explained 62% of the variance in fear of cancer recurrence. Emotional representations (=.46, p<.01), symptom attribution (=.21, p<.01), timeline (=.23, p<.01), and consequences (=.16, p<.03) were significantly related to fear of recurrence. By contrast, the majority of clinical and demographic variables were not significant contributors to fear of recurrence. ConclusionsUpon completion of cancer treatment, survivors with more emotional representations of the experience and those who attribute unrelated symptoms to their breast cancer have a higher level of fear of recurrence. Evaluation of these factors during treatment may help mitigate fear of recurrence in the survivorship phase of the breast cancer trajectory. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.