A qualitative exploration of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) amongst Australian and Canadian breast cancer survivors
Open accessAbstract
PURPOSE: Few studies have explored coping strategies used by cancer survivors to deal with fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), and little research has been conducted on the specific content of recurrence fears. This study aims to qualitatively explore the strategies used by younger breast cancer survivors to cope with FCR and whether women with low, medium and high levels of FCR employ different coping strategies. An additional aim was to understand the specific content of worst recurrence fears. METHOD: Twenty Australian and 10 Canadian women aged ≤ 45 years diagnosed with stages 0-II disease at least 1 year prior completed telephone interviews. The transcripts of audio-taped interviews were analysed using the qualitative methodology of transcendental realism. RESULTS: Women with higher FCR described using distraction and avoidance and fewer coping skills. The fear of death was a common worst fear at all levels of FCR. However, participants with higher FCR described more elaborate fears of death often involving themes of pain and suffering. Cross-cultural differences were not observed. CONCLUSIONS: Women with higher FCR report using fewer and more avoidance-based coping techniques. Whilst many participants feared death, those with higher FCR reported more elaborate death fears. Women with high levels of FCR may benefit from learning a greater repertoire of coping skills. Understanding the specific content of FCR can help refine existing psychological treatment protocols for FCR. Implications for FCR treatment are discussed.
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Contrary to the fear of cancer recurrence literature, participants in this study did not report fears related to dying, experiencing physical pain, and undergoing treatments (e.g., chemotherapy).
“Contrary to the fear of cancer recurrence literature, participants in this study did not report fears related to dying, experiencing physical pain, and undergoing treatments (e.g., chemotherapy) [54].”
From Fear of depression recurrence among individuals with remitted depression: a qualitative interview study (2024) · cites this paper as [54]
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- Authors
- Thewes, B., Lebel, S., Seguin Leclair, C., & Butow, P.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- University of Ottawa (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Thewes, B.
- Venue
- Supportive Care in Cancer
- Published
- 2015-11-19
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 2269-2276
- ISSN
- 0941-4355 (ISSN-L)
- 1433-7339
- PMC
- PMC4805701
- OpenAlex
- W2175721702
- Cited by
- 104
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 2.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Supportive Care in Cancer (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Breast Cancer Foundation (AU)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Women's cancer prevention and management
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life
- Keywords
- fear of cancer recurrence, breast cancer survivors, coping strategies, avoidance, distraction, fear of death, young women, cross-cultural comparison
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Australia, Breast Neoplasms, Canada, Fear, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Recurrence, Local, Survivors
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