Stress-buffering effect of social support on immunity and infectious risk during chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Objective: This study investigated the stress-buffering effect of social support on immune function and infectious risk in women with breast cancer, during and after chemotherapy.

Method: Data were collected from 50 women with breast cancer before and after their chemotherapy, as well as three months later. Stress was measured by daily hassles related to cancer and social support by marital status (MS) and perceived support from friends (Ps-fr).

Insomnia, immunity, and infections in cancer patients: Results from a longitudinal study.

Background: Insomnia is very common in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Poor sleep is associated with immune alterations but the actual impact on health resulting from such immune changes has rarely been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in women treated with chemotherapy for breast or gynecological cancer, the relationships between insomnia, immunity, and the occurrence of infections.

Do Cancer-Related Beliefs Influence the Severity, Incidence, and Persistence of Psychological Symptoms?

Background: Previous studies have suggested that negative beliefs about cancer may impair patients' psychological well-being, but only a few of these studies focused on specific psychological symptoms, and many were cross-sectional.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate longitudinally the relationship of cancer-related cognitions with the severity, incidence, and persistence of anxiety, fear of cancer recurrence, depression, and insomnia symptoms during an 18-month period.

Methods: Patients scheduled to undergo surgery for cancer (N = 962) completed a questionnaire assessing cancer-related cognitions at baseline (T1), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the severity subscale of the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory, and the Insomnia Severity Index at baseline (T1) and 2 (T2), 6 (T3), 10 (T4), 14 (T5), and 18 (T6) months later.

Is anxiety associated with hot flashes in women with breast cancer?

Objective: Women with breast cancer are at higher risk for experiencing hot flashes (HFs), which is attributable, in large part, to systemic cancer treatments and their effects on estrogen levels. However, other factors, such as anxiety, could also play a role. This study aimed to assess the cross-sectional and temporal relationships between anxiety and HFs among women treated for breast cancer and to clarify the direction of these relationships.

Insomnia and self-reported infections in cancer patients: An 18-month longitudinal study.

Objective: This study, conducted in cancer patients, aimed to evaluate longitudinally whether the presence of insomnia is associated with the occurrence of self-reported infections.

Method: Patients scheduled to receive a curative surgery for a first diagnosis of nonmetastatic cancer were solicited on the day of their preoperative visit. In total, 962 cancer patients completed the Insomnia Interview Schedule and a clinical interview to assess infectious symptoms at 6 time points: at the perioperative phase (baseline), as well as 2, 6, 10, 14, and 18 months later.