Breast Cancer
Conditions
Keywords
breast cancer, quality of life, children of somatically ill parents, psychological adaptation
Brief summary
About 1/3 of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients are mothers of children who still live at home. They face additional challenges and stress, their children are also affected by the mother's illness. The oncological rehabilitation programme getting better together focuses on these special family needs. This waiting-control-group study examines the effectiveness of the intervention by accompanying the patients and their children over the course of a year and assessing their quality of life and psychological health.
Detailed description
About 1/3 of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients are mothers of children who still live at home. They face additional challenges and stress, their children are also affected by the mother's illness. The oncological rehabilitation programme getting better together, administered by the Rexrodt von Fircks Foundation and the Clinic Ostseedeich in Groemitz, Germany, focuses on these special family needs. This waiting-control-group-study, designed and executed at the Philipps University Marburg Medical Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, examines the effectiveness of the intervention by accompanying the patients and their children over the course of a year and assessing their quality of life and psychological health. The primary outcome measure for mothers is the health related quality of life as assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 and BR-23; children's adaptation is assessed with the ILK (Inventory for the Assessment of Quality of Life of Children and Adolescents) as well as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)
Interventions
BEHAVIORALrehabilitation programme getting better together
Mothers and their children (age 0-16) take part in a 3-week, family-oriented oncological rehabilitation programme which consists of medical, psychological and psychooncological treatments for mothers and children.
Sponsors
Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Philipps University Marburg
Rexrodt von Fircks Foundation
Philipps University Marburg
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* participants of the rehabilitation programme getting better together * mothers of children up to the age of 16 * have been diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer for the first time in their lives * chemotherapy or radiation therapy ended no less than 6 weeks ago
Exclusion criteria
* metastases
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Mothers' and children's Quality of Life (EORTC OLQ-C30, QLQ-BR23; ILK) | 4 weeks before, at the beginning & post treatment, 3 and 12 months follow-up |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Mothers' Depressive Symptoms (BDI) | 4 weeks before, at the beginning and post treatment, 3 and 12 months follow up |
| Mother's Life Satisfaction | 4 weeks before, at the beginning & post treatment, 3 and 12 months follow up |
| Mothers' and children's Treatment Satisfaction | Post Treatment |
| Children's psychological difficulties (SDQ) | 4 weeks before, at the beginning & post treatment, 3 and 12 months follow-up |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed