Fun and friends help ease the pain of breast cancer

Kaiser Permanente study among the first to examine how social relationships influence quality of life in breast cancer patients

2013-05-09

(Press-News.org) OAKLAND, Calif., May 9 — Breast cancer patients who say they have people with whom they have a good time, or have "positive social interactions" with, are better able to deal with pain and other physical symptoms, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published today in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

"This study provides research-based evidence that social support helps with physical symptoms," said lead author Candyce H. Kroenke, ScD, MPH, staff scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. "Social support mechanisms matter in terms of physical outcomes."

The study, which is among the first to examine exactly how social relationships influence quality of life in breast cancer patients, also found that tangible support (such as help with household tasks and errands) was most useful to those with late-stage cancer.

"While hundreds of studies have examined the role of factors influencing cancer risk and prevention, this study is one of a small but growing number that focus quality of life after a breast cancer diagnosis," Kroenke said.

Part of the Pathways study of breast cancer survivorship at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, the study included 3,139 female members of Kaiser Permanente in Northern California who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer between 2006 and 2011. Within about two months of their breast cancer diagnosis, study participants answered several detailed questionnaires on their social networks (including friends and relatives, spouse/intimate relationships, and religious, social and community ties); the kinds of support they received (tangible, emotional/informational, affection and positive social interaction); and their emotional and physical quality of life, and physical symptoms from breast cancer.

Women with the highest levels of social integration—the largest social networks, or the personal relationships that surround an individual—were most likely to report the best overall quality of life during breast cancer treatment, and higher levels of social support were also related to better emotional quality of life. Moreover, of the different types of social support, positive social interaction, defined as the availability of other persons to do fun things was the most important predictor of physical quality of life. Those who indicated having little or no positive interaction were three times more likely to report a low quality of life and greater physical symptoms.

"Positive social interaction was significantly related to every quality-of-life measure," Kroenke and co-authors wrote. "Given that this dimension was determined by the availability of someone with whom to have fun, relax and get one's mind off things for awhile, it is possible that positive social interaction may enable women to forget for awhile the distress of being a cancer patient, and the physiologic effects last beyond the actual interaction."

The impact of tangible support for breast cancer patients — such as doing chores, bringing them to the doctor, or providing food — was also strong among late-stage patients: those with low levels of tangible support were 2.74 times more likely to report that their quality of life was worse than average.

About 230,000 women are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer each year in the United States, and as of 2012 there were about 2.9 million breast cancer survivors. The fact that more women are being cured of breast cancer increases the importance of quality of life after diagnosis, Kroenke explained.

The Pathways study and an additional study based at the Division of Research called LACE (Life After Cancer Epidemiology) are collecting and analyzing data about women's genetic background, tumor characteristics and lifestyle choices immediately after diagnosis. Findings from these studies are providing information to help guide women as they make decisions following a breast cancer diagnosis. Among these findings are that high-fat dairy consumption increases mortality risk; soy decreases the risk of breast cancer recurrence; quality of life after diagnosis influences outcomes; and physical activity is beneficial.

### Kaiser Permanente can conduct transformational health research like this study in part because it has the largest private electronic health system in the world. The organization's integrated model and electronic health record system, Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, securely connects 9 million people, 611 medical offices, and 37 hospitals, linking patients with their health care teams, their personal health information and the latest medical knowledge. It also connects Kaiser Permanente's research scientists, clinicians and operational leaders to one of the most extensive collections of longitudinal medical data available, facilitating studies and important medical discoveries that shape the future of health and care delivery for patients and the medical community.

In addition to Kroenke, co-authors of the study were Marilyn L. Kwan, PhD, Isaac J. Ergas, MPH, Bette J. Caan, DrPH, and Larry H. Kushi, ScD, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Oakland, Calif.; Alfred I. Neugat, MD, MPH, PhD, and Dawn Hershman, MD, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, N.Y.; and Jaime D. Wright, PhD candidate, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Calif. The National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute Grant No. 2R01 CA105274 supported this study.

About the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research conducts, publishes and disseminates epidemiologic and health services research to improve the health and medical care of Kaiser Permanente members and the society at large. It seeks to understand the determinants of illness and well-being, and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Currently, DOR's 600-plus staff is working on more than 250 epidemiological and health services research projects. For more information, visit http://www.dor.kaiser.org.

About Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and nonprofit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/newscenter.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New Red List developed for threatened ecosystems

2013-05-09

Scientists have developed a new Red List system for identifying ecosystems at high risk of degradation, similar to the influential Red List for the world's threatened species. The team carrying out the research was convened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and led by Professor David Keith, of the University of New South Wales and the NSW Office of Environment. The study, which illustrates how the framework for risk assessment applies to 20 ecosystems around the world, including eight in Australia, is published today in the Public Library of Science ...

Engineered spider toxin could be the future of anti-venom vaccines

2013-05-09

Amsterdam, May 9, 2013 - New engineered spider protein could be the start of a new generation of anti-venom vaccines, potentially saving thousands of lives worldwide. The new protein, created from parts of a toxin from the reaper spider, is described today in the Elsevier journal Vaccine. The researchers behind the study, from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil, say that the engineered protein may be a promising candidate for developing therapeutic serums or vaccines against other venoms. Reaper spiders, or brown spiders, are a family of species found ...

Mass. General, Duke study identifies 2 genes that combine to cause rare syndrome

2013-05-09

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Duke University have identified genetic mutations that appear to underlie a rare but devastating syndrome combining reproductive failure with cerebellar ataxia – a lack of muscle coordination – and dementia. In a paper that will appear in the May 23 New England Journal of Medicine and is receiving early online release, the investigators describe finding mutations in one or both of two genes involved in a cellular process called ubiquitination in affected members of five unrelated families. "This study highlights, ...

U Alberta researcher identifies 4 dinosaur species

2013-05-09

(Edmonton) Just when dinosaur researchers thought they had a thorough knowledge of ankylosaurs, a family of squat, armour plated, plant eaters, along comes University of Alberta graduate student, Victoria Arbour. Arbour visited dinosaur fossil collections from Alberta to the U.K. examining skull armour and comparing those head details with other features of the fossilized ankylosaur remains. She made a breakthrough that resurrected research done more than 70 years ago. Arbour explains that between 1900 and 1930 researchers had determined that small variations in the ...

Human impacts on natural world underestimated

2013-05-09

A comprehensive five-year study by University of Calgary ecologists – which included monitoring the activity of wolves, elks, cattle and humans – indicates that two accepted principles of how ecosystems naturally operate could be overshadowed by the importance of human activity. "Understanding the significance of the impact that humans have on ecosystems is a critical component in formulating long-term and effective conservation strategies," says principal investigator Marco Musiani. "Our results led us to believe that ecologists have underestimated the impact of humans ...

The effect of climate change on iceberg production by Greenland glaciers

2013-05-09

While the impact of climate change on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet has been widely studied, a clear understanding of the key process of iceberg production has eluded researchers for many years. Published in Nature this week, a new study presents a sophisticated computer model that provides a fresh insight into the impact of climate change on the production of icebergs by Greenland glaciers, and reveals that the shape of the ground beneath the ice has a strong effect on its movement. Over the past decade, ice-loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet has been accelerating, ...

Researchers use graphene quantum dots to detect humidity and pressure

2013-05-09

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- The latest research from a Kansas State University chemical engineer may help improve humidity and pressure sensors, particularly those used in outer space. Vikas Berry, William H. Honstead professor of chemical engineering, and his research team are using graphene quantum dots to improve sensing devices in a twofold project. The first part involves producing the graphene quantum dots, which are ultrasmall pieces of graphene. Graphene is a single-atom thick sheet of carbon atoms and has superior electrical, mechanical and optical properties. The second ...

Study shows that people organize daily travel efficiently

2013-05-09

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Studies of human mobility usually focus on either the small scale — determining the origins, destinations and travel modes of individuals' daily commutes — or the very large scale, such as using air-travel patterns to track the spread of epidemics over time. The large-scale studies, most of which are made possible by the vast data generated and collected by new technologies like sensors and cellphones, are very good at describing the big picture, but don't provide much detail at the individual level. Smaller-scale studies have the opposite characteristic: ...

Researchers find a way to make steel without greenhouse-gas emissions

2013-05-09

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Anyone who has seen pictures of the giant, red-hot cauldrons in which steel is made — fed by vast amounts of carbon, and belching flame and smoke — would not be surprised to learn that steelmaking is one of the world's leading industrial sources of greenhouse gases. But remarkably, a new process developed by MIT researchers could change all that. The new process even carries a couple of nice side benefits: The resulting steel should be of higher purity, and eventually, once the process is scaled up, cheaper. Donald Sadoway, the John F. Elliott Professor ...

Engineers fine-tune the sensitivity of nano-chemical sensor

2013-05-09

Researchers have discovered a technique for controlling the sensitivity of graphene chemical sensors. The sensors, made of an insulating base coated with a graphene sheet--a single-atom-thick layer of carbon--are already so sensitive that they can detect an individual molecule of gas. But manipulating the chemical properties of the insulating layer, without altering the graphene layer, may yet improve their ability to detect the most minute concentrations of various gases. The finding "will open up entirely new possibilities for modulation and control of the chemical ...

Fun and friends help ease the pain of breast cancer

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: