State Anxiety and Cancer-Specific Anxiety in Survivors of Breast Cancer

Abstract

The current study aimed to identify rates and predictors (demographic, treatment, and psychological variables) of state and cancer-specific anxiety among survivors of breast cancer. Data were collected through a structured telephone interview with 120 women who were at least one year posttreatment. Rates of state anxiety were substantially lower than were the norms for general medical patients. Cancer-specific anxiety was also mild. In hierarchical regression analyses, higher levels of trait anxiety were associated with state and cancer-specific anxiety (β = .73, p< .001, and β = .34, p< .001, respectively). Higher levels of risk perception were associated only with greater cancer-specific anxiety (β = .03, p= .057). The findings suggest the need for specificity in assessing anxiety among women with a history of breast cancer.

Key Words:

• Breast cancer
• survivorship
• anxiety