Breast cancer survival tool: Group therapy
If you know in your heart that psychotherapy helps women with breast cancer, you’re right. At least that’s the latest finding by a group of physicians at Stanford (CA) University Medical School. (See Kogan MM, Biswas A, Pearl D, et al. Cancer 1997; 80:225-230.) The 86 women studied had metastatic breast cancer. All had undergone treatment including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Those who participated in group therapy sessions lived 50% longer. "[We] found no difference in the patients’ medical treatment that might account for the difference in survival time," the investigators wrote.
Therapy groups met 90 minutes every week for 12 months. Participants were encouraged to form strong bonds of mutual support and: express feelings about cancer, share fears about death, improve personal relationships, communicate openly with health providers, practice self-hypnosis for pain control. Speculating on why therapy increases longevity in women with advanced cancer, the authors present no definite answers. They say perhaps the group support influences a woman’s health habits or encourages her to assume a more active role in her treatment decisions. "The relationship between psychosocial support and cancer course is complex, poorly understood, and controversial," they conclude.
Norissa Honea, RN, BSN, OCN, oncology nurse coordinator at the Phoenix-based St. Luke’s Medi-cal Center, agrees that therapy group participants are more active and assertive in therapy decisions. "Therapy seems to give them the tools to feel that they’re in control of the quality of their lives. It enables them to find the meaning in their lives."
[Editor’s note: For more information on integrating support groups into cancer therapy, contact: Norissa Honea, RN, BSN, OCN, Oncology Nurse Coordinator, St. Luke’s Medical Center, 1800 E. Van Buren St., Suite 902, Phoenix, AZ 85006. Telephone: (602) 251-8715. Fax: (602) 251-8716.] t
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