GOAL OF WORK: The objective of this exploratory retrospective study was to assess the effects of breast cancer diagnosis upon the psychological distress of adult breast cancer patients and their mothers, particularly mothers who experienced past trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four groups of mother-daughter dyads were evaluated using self-reporting measures of psychological distress [Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)], familial support (PFS), and adjustment to cancer (MAC, IES): breast cancer patients whose mothers were Holocaust survivors (group 1), breast cancer patients with non-traumatized mothers (group 2), healthy daughters of Holocaust survivor mothers (group 3), and a control group of healthy daughters with non-traumatized mothers (group 4). MAIN RESULTS: Distress levels of both mothers and daughters in group 1 were significantly higher than distress levels of mothers and daughters in the other three groups. Daughters' distress levels in all four groups were found to be significantly related to mothers' distress levels, with the highest correlation found in both groups of cancer patients. The factors of having a clinically distressed mother and being a second-generation daughter contributed the most to predicting the clinical distress of the daughter. CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes imply that the mother's traumatic past intensifies the distressing effect of cancer diagnosis upon both the patient and her mother. The findings concerning the impact of cancer diagnosis upon the patients' non-traumatized mothers were more ambiguous. The results support the idea that in the case of breast cancer patients, a complete psychological evaluation must include not only spouses and children but also the familial background of the patient and the history of the patients' mothers.
GOAL OF WORK: The objective of this exploratory retrospective study was to assess the effects of breast cancer diagnosis upon the psychological distress of adult breast cancerpatients and their mothers, particularly mothers who experienced past trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four groups of mother-daughter dyads were evaluated using self-reporting measures of psychological distress [Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)], familial support (PFS), and adjustment to cancer (MAC, IES): breast cancerpatients whose mothers were Holocaust survivors (group 1), breast cancerpatients with non-traumatized mothers (group 2), healthy daughters of Holocaust survivor mothers (group 3), and a control group of healthy daughters with non-traumatized mothers (group 4). MAIN RESULTS: Distress levels of both mothers and daughters in group 1 were significantly higher than distress levels of mothers and daughters in the other three groups. Daughters' distress levels in all four groups were found to be significantly related to mothers' distress levels, with the highest correlation found in both groups of cancerpatients. The factors of having a clinically distressed mother and being a second-generation daughter contributed the most to predicting the clinical distress of the daughter. CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes imply that the mother's traumatic past intensifies the distressing effect of cancer diagnosis upon both the patient and her mother. The findings concerning the impact of cancer diagnosis upon the patients' non-traumatized mothers were more ambiguous. The results support the idea that in the case of breast cancerpatients, a complete psychological evaluation must include not only spouses and children but also the familial background of the patient and the history of the patients' mothers.
Authors: Ania Syrowatka; Aude Motulsky; Siyana Kurteva; James A Hanley; William G Dixon; Ari N Meguerditchian; Robyn Tamblyn Journal: Breast Cancer Res Treat Date: 2017-05-28 Impact factor: 4.872