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- Title
ACCEPTANCE OF RELAPSE FEARS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: EFFECTS OF AN ACT-BASED ABRIDGED INTERVENTION.
- Authors
Montesinos, Francisco; Luciano, Carmen
- Abstract
Objective: Relapse fear is a common psychological scar in cancer survivors. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of an abridged version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in breast cancer patients. Method: An open trial was developed with 12 non-metastatic breast cancer patients assigned to 2 conditions, ACT and waiting list. Interventions were applied in just one session and focused on the acceptance of relapse fears through a 'defusion' exercise. Interference and intensity of fear measured through subjective scales were collected after each intervention and again 3 months later. Distress, hypochondria and 'anxious preocupation' were also evaluated through standardized questionnaires. Results: The analysis revealed that 'defusion' contributed to decrease the interference of the fear of recurrence, and these changes were maintained three months after intervention in most subjects. 87% of participants showed clinically signifcant decreases in interference at follow-up sessions whereas no patient in the waiting list showed such changes. Statistical analysis revealed that the changes in interference were signifcant when comparing pre, post and follow-up treatment, and also when comparing ACT and waiting list groups. Changes in intensity of fear, distress, anxious preoccupation and hypochondria were also observed. Conclusions: Exposure through 'defusion' techniques might be considered a useful option for treatment of persistent fears in cancer patients. This study provides evidence for therapies focusing on psychological acceptance in cancer patients through short, simple and feasible therapeutic methods.
- Subjects
SPAIN; BREAST tumors; ADAPTABILITY (Personality); ANXIETY; CANCER patient psychology; FEAR; HYPOCHONDRIA; LIFE skills; MARITAL status; PATIENT satisfaction; PSYCHOLOGICAL tests; QUESTIONNAIRES; RESEARCH; SCALE analysis (Psychology); SELF-evaluation; PSYCHOLOGICAL stress; VALUES clarification; DISEASE relapse; ACTIVITIES of daily living; EFFECT sizes (Statistics); ACCEPTANCE &; commitment therapy; TREATMENT effectiveness; PRE-tests &; post-tests; FUNCTIONAL assessment; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; MANN Whitney U Test; ATTITUDES toward illness; CANCER &; psychology
- Publication
Psicooncologia, 2016, Vol 13, Issue 1, p7
- ISSN
1696-7240
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5209/rev_PSIC.2016.v13.n1.52484