The process of recovery from breast cancer for younger and older patients. Changes during the first year.

A representative community sample of 274 breast cancer (BC) patients from the Metropolitan Detroit Cancer-Surveillance System was studied longitudinally during the year after their BC diagnosis. The adjustment of these patients to their disease was examined in terms of (1) the changes in their physical and mental health functioning; and (2) the factors that predict or facilitate the recovery process, including the independent and interactive effects of age. Comparison of the outcomes at 4 and 10 months after diagnosis manifested a significant and consistent improvement in physical functioning. In contrast, there was an absence of any improvement in indicators of mental health and well-being. Whereas the cross-sectional analyses demonstrated that stage of disease had an impact on physical impairment, the longitudinal analyses revealed that physical impairment at time 1 was the significant predictor of deteriorating mental health at time 2. Furthermore, younger age was shown to exacerbate the impact of impairment on mental health. The more seriously impaired younger patients experienced significantly greater deterioration in their mental health and well-being than similarly impaired older patients. However, older age was found to exacerbate the impact of more extensive surgery on symptoms that produce limitations in activity.