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A brief psychoeducational intervention improves memory contentment in breast cancer survivors with cognitive concerns: results of a single-arm prospective study

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Abstract

Purpose

One in three breast cancer survivors experiences persistent cognitive changes that can negatively impact daily functioning and quality of life. In our cancer center, the largest tertiary cancer center in Canada, patients with self-reported cancer-related cognitive dysfunction (CRCD) are offered psychoeducation intended to reduce distress about CRCD symptoms and improve everyday cognitive performance, but evidence regarding this intervention’s impact is lacking. Here, we assess whether a 1-hour (h), individual psychoeducational intervention designed to promote self-management of CRCD symptoms can improve attitudes and coping with memory-related difficulties in women with breast cancer.

Methods

Breast cancer survivors with self-reported CRCD (N = 100) were assessed immediately before, immediately after, and 6 weeks following the intervention. Participants’ memory contentment, knowledge of CRCD, symptom distress, and self-efficacy to cope with symptoms were measured.

Results

Participants showed improvements in memory contentment immediately after the intervention (Cohen’s d effect size and 95% CI = 0.87 [0.58, 1.16]) and 6 weeks later (d = 0.77 [0.48, 1.05]). Significant improvements in secondary study outcomes, including knowledge of CRCD (d = 1.32 [1.01, 1.63]), symptom distress (d = − 0.82 [− 1.11, − 0.53]), and self-efficacy to cope with cognitive symptoms (d = 1.45 [1.14, 1.76]), were also observed.

Conclusions

A single, 1-hour psychoeducational intervention can achieve lasting and improved adjustment to memory symptoms in breast cancer survivors with self-reported CRCD. Further investigation using a randomized controlled study design is warranted. Comparisons with previously reported psychoeducational interventions for CRCD are made, and next steps for this research are discussed.

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Funding

Support for this study was provided by the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) disease management grant RN 142313-261573, and a CIHR Canada Graduate Scholarship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada

    Lori J. Bernstein

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Lori J. Bernstein

  3. ELLICSR: Health, Wellness & Cancer Survivorship, Toronto General Hospital, 585 University Ave, Munk Building, B PMB 146, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada

    Lori J. Bernstein

  4. Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada

    Graham A. McCreath & Jill B. Rich

  5. Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Joyce Nyhof-Young

  6. Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Dilan Dissanayake

Authors
  1. Lori J. Bernstein
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  2. Graham A. McCreath
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  4. Dilan Dissanayake
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  5. Jill B. Rich
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lori J. Bernstein.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Research involving human participants

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the local institutional review board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Prior to participation, all patients provided written informed consent.

Role of the funding source

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Bernstein, L.J., McCreath, G.A., Nyhof-Young, J. et al. A brief psychoeducational intervention improves memory contentment in breast cancer survivors with cognitive concerns: results of a single-arm prospective study. Support Care Cancer 26, 2851–2859 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4135-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4135-z

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