Persistent breast pain in post-surgery breast cancer survivors and women with no history of breast surgery or cancer: associations with pain catastrophizing, perceived breast cancer risk, breast cancer worry, and emotional distress

Authors

  • Dana H. Bovbjerg UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
  • Francis J. Keefe Duke University Medical Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
  • Mary S. Soo Duke University Medical Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
  • Jessica Manculich UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
  • Alyssa Van Denburg Duke University Medical Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
  • Margarita L. Zuley UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
  • Gretchen M. Ahrendt UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA;  University of Colorado Hospital, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA
  • Celette S. Skinner Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
  • Sara N. Edmond Duke University Medical Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA;  VA Connecticut, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
  • Rebecca A. Shelby Duke University Medical Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1080/0284186X.2019.1574023

Abstract

Background: Persistent breast pain (PBP) is prevalent among breast cancer survivors and has powerful negative psychological consequences. The present study provided a first test of the hypothesis that: (a) pain catastrophizing, (b) heightened perceived risk of cancer, and (c) worry that pain indicates cancer may be independent mediating links between breast cancer survivors’ experiences of PBP and heightened emotional distress.

Methodology: We assessed levels of PBP and psychological factors in breast cancer survivors (Survivor Group: n = 417; Stages I-IIIA; White = 88.7%; Age M = 59.4 years) at their first surveillance mammogram post-surgery (6–15 months). A comparison group of women without histories of breast surgery or cancer (Non-cancer Group: n = 587; White = 78.7%; Age M = 57.4 years) was similarly assessed at the time of a routine screening mammogram. All women completed measures of breast pain, pain catastrophizing, perceived breast cancer risk, and worry that breast pain indicates cancer, as well as measures of emotional distress (symptoms of anxiety, symptoms of depression, and mammography-specific distress). Analyses included race, age, BMI, education, and menopausal status as covariates, with significance set at 0.05.

Results: As expected, PBP prevalence was significantly higher in the Survivor Group than in the Non-cancer Group (50.6% vs. 17.5%). PBP+ survivors also had significantly higher levels of emotional distress, pain catastrophizing, mammography-specific distress, and worry that breast pain indicates cancer, compared to PBP− survivors. Structural equation modeling results were significant for all hypothesized mediational pathways. Interestingly, comparisons of PBP+ to PBP− women in the Non-cancer Group showed similar results.

Conclusion: These findings suggest the importance of (a) pain catastrophizing, (b) perceived breast cancer risk and, (c) worry that breast pain may indicate cancer, as potential targets for interventions aimed at reducing the negative psychological impact of PBP in post-surgery breast cancer survivors, as well as in unaffected women with PBP due to unknown reasons.

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Published

2019-05-04

How to Cite

Bovbjerg, D. H., Keefe, F. J., Soo, M. S., Manculich, J., Van Denburg, A., Zuley, M. L., … Shelby, R. A. (2019). Persistent breast pain in post-surgery breast cancer survivors and women with no history of breast surgery or cancer: associations with pain catastrophizing, perceived breast cancer risk, breast cancer worry, and emotional distress. Acta Oncologica, 58(5), 763–768. https://doi.org/10.1080/0284186X.2019.1574023

Issue

Vol. 58 No. 5 (2019): Acta Oncologica

Section

Articles