Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of death in middle-age women. Several psychological, cultural, and systemic factors can exacerbate the course of this disease and complicate its treatment and recovery. These include clinical depression, cultural factors, and marital dynamics, particularly marital conflict. Individual and couples counseling can be essential for effective medical treatment and clinical outcomes. A case example illustrates these points.
American Cancer Society. (2007). Cancer facts and figures, 2007. Atlanta, GA : Author.
2.
Axford, J., & O’Callaghan, C. (2004). Medicine (2nd ed). London: Wiley-Blackwell .
3.
Freeman, H., Muth, B., & Kerner, J. ( 1995). Expanding access to cancer screening and clinical follow-up among the medical under-served. Cancer Practice, 3, 19-30.
4.
Gail, T., Kristjansson, E., Charbonneau, C., & Florack, P. ( 2009). A longitudinal study of the role of spirituality in response to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32, 174-180.
5.
Goodwin, J., Zhang, D., & Ostir, G. ( 2004). Effect of depression on diagnosis, treatment, and survival of older women with breast cancer. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 52, 106-111.
6.
Hegel, M., Moore, C., Collins, E., Kearing, S., Gillock, K., Riggs, R., et al. (2006). Distress, psychiatric syndromes, and impairment of function in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Cancer, 107, 2924-2931.
7.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J., Marucha, P., Malarkey, W., Mercado, A., & Glaser, R. ( 1995). Slowing of wound healing by psychological stress. Lancet, 346, 1194-1196.
8.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J., Loving, T., Stowell, J., Malarkey, W., Lemeshow, S., Dickinson, S., et al. (2005). Hostile marital interactions, proinflammatory cytokine production, and wound healing. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 1377-1384.
9.
McGuire, L., Heffner, K., Glaser, R., Needleman, B., Malarkey, W., Dickinson, S., et al. (2006). Pain and wound healing in surgical patients . Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 31, 65-172.
10.
Sephton, S., Dhabhar, F., Keuroghlian, A., Giese-Davis, J., McEwen, B., Ionan, A., et al. (2009). Depression, cortisol, and suppressed cell-mediated immunity in metastatic breast cancer. Brain, Behavior and Immunity , 23, 1148-1155.
11.
Sperry, L. ( 2009). Treatment of chronic medical conditions: Cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies and integrative treatment protocols. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Books.
