Managing the impact of posttreatment fatigue on the family: Breast cancer survivors share their experiences.

Abstract

With improvements in both early detection and treatments for breast cancer, the number of survivors has increased dramatically in recent decades. One of the most common lingering symptoms posttreatment for cancer survivors is chronic fatigue. Based on family stress theory and Rolland's typology of illness, this qualitative study extends our understanding of the impact of persistent posttreatment fatigue on families and how breast cancer survivors manage the family issues that arise because of this chronic stressor. Participants included 35 female survivors of breast cancer (mean age = 54 years) who experienced fatigue after the completion of active cancer treatment, with the exception of long-term hormonal therapy. Data were generated from (a) observations of group sessions from a randomized controlled fatigue intervention designed to reduce fatigue in breast cancer survivors, (b) individual in-depth interviews, and (c) family sessions. Qualitative analysis revealed two broad themes that illustrate how the survivors manage the impact of fatigue on their families: Interpreting the meaning of the fatigue and Dealing with the inability to perform family roles. Study findings describe the difficulties in family adaptation when the family is not able to assign a clear meaning to a chronic symptom posttreatment and build upon family stress theory by highlighting interrelationships among communication patterns and role shifts in the family system.