Educational Program in Younger Women Who Have Recently Finished Treatment for Stage I or Stage II Breast Cancer

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Breast Neoplasms

Registration Number: NCT00416572

Lead Sponsor: Carnegie Mellon University

Brief Summary: RATIONALE: Educational programs may improve coping and quality of life in younger women who have recently been treated for early-stage breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To conduct a clinical trial to determine if an educational intervention and a nutritional intervention could enhance physical and psychological functioning among younger women completing treatment for early-stage breast cancer.

Detailed Description: OBJECTIVES:

* Design, implement, and evaluate an educational intervention and a nutrition education intervention specifically aimed at improving adjustment among younger women who have been newly diagnosed with and treated for stage I or II breast cancer and who are ending the active phase of treatment.

* Determine the processes through which the interventions affect quality of life.

* Assess whether the interventions are differentially effective for different groups of women.

* Determine how women who decline participation differ from those who participate.

* Determine the nature and extent of adjustment difficulties, using baseline data, in younger women living in an urban setting who have been treated for early stage breast cancer.

* Identify personality and situational correlates of individuals who adapt well to early-stage breast cancer diagnosis and treatment and those who do not.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized study. Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 intervention groups or a control condition.

* Arm I (control group): Patients did not undergo any intervention. Patients were evaluated at baseline and at 4 and 13 months.

* Arm II (breast cancer education group): Patients attended a series of approximately 2-hour-long breast cancer education group sessions once a month for 4 months. Sessions involved the presentation of information concerning breast cancer, followed by a guided discussion of related topics. Sessions topics included: talking with children about cancer, life after diagnosis, relationships/intimacy, and hormones and breast cancer/basic factors of heredity. Patients were also given booklets and brochures to read at home. Patients were evaluated at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at 9 months after the intervention.

* Arm III (nutritional education group): Patients attended a series of approximately 2-hour-long nutritional education group sessions once a month for 4 months. Sessions involved the presentation of information concerning nutrition, followed by a guided discussion of related topics. Session topics included: healthy cupboards, what's cooking, shopping for success, and out on the town. Patients were also asked to keep a 4 day record of diet. Patients were evaluated at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at 9 months after the intervention.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: Female

Target Recruitment: 252

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Depressive Symptoms (Measured With an Abbreviated 10-item CES-D) at Baseline, Post-intervention (4-months Post-intervention) and Final Follow-up (13-months Post-intervention).	Baseline, Post-intervention(4 months post-intervention) and Final Follow-up(13 months post-intervention).	Scores for the shortened form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale(CES-D) ranged from 0 (no depressive symptoms) to 24 (high levels of depressives symptoms) in the present sample.
Perceived Physical Health (Measured With SF-36) at Baseline, Post-intervention (4-months Post-intervention) and Final Follow-up (13-months Post-intervention)	Baseline, Post-intervention(4 months post-intervention), and Final Follow-up(13 months post-intervention)	The Perceived Physical Health Component scale of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) consists of a norm-based weighted average of the following subscales: Physical functioning, bodily pain, role limitations due to physical problems and general health. In the present study, scores ranged from a maximum of 68 (high levels of perceived health) to a minimum of 24 (low levels of perceived health).
Mental Health (Measured With the SF-36) at Baseline, Post-intervention (4-months Post-intervention) and Final Follow-up (13-months Post-intervention)	Baseline, Post-intervention(4 months post-intervention), Final Follow-up(13 months post-intervention)	The Mental Health Component Scale of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) consists of a norm-based weighted average of the following subscales: vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems and mental health. In the present study, scores ranged from a maximum of 68 (high levels of mental health) to a minimum of 15 (low levels of mental health).