Cancer, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society that provides clinicians and researchers with the latest information they need to give patients the best-quality cancer care possible has published Dr. Kelly Metcalfe’s latest article “The impact of having a sister diagnosed with breast cancer on cancer-related distress and breast cancer risk perception.”
Research has traditionally examined breast cancer, family history and psychosocial functioning and the impact it has on daughters of patients with breast cancer and families with multiple relatives with the disease. The purpose of Dr. Metcalfe’s current study was to examine cancer-related distress and breast cancer risk perception, and further examine the predictors of these outcomes, in the sisters of newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer without a previous family history of the disease.
A total of 205 sisters, of women who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer, took part in the study and completed questionnaires. The sisters who participated reported high cancer-related distress and this leads the authors to suggest that future interventions should be targeted towards this group.