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Patterns of confidant use among patients and spouses in the year after breast cancer

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Abstract

Introduction

We describe the frequency of, satisfaction with, and characteristics associated with confidant use among patients and their spouse in the year after diagnosis of non-metastatic breast cancer.

Methods

In a prospective study of 308 women diagnosed in 1996–97 in Quebec and their spouses, participants were interviewed about confidant use 2 weeks, 3 and 12 months after treatment start. Study completion among eligible individuals was high (patients, 86%; spouses, 84%).

Results

Compared to before diagnosis when 55% of patients reported confiding in ≥1 individuals, 84% reported confiding since diagnosis when interviewed 2 weeks after treatment start (prevalence ratio (PR2 weeks) = 1.43, p < 0.0001). Spouses reported a greater increase in confiding (PR2 weeks = 1.97, p < 0.0001). Nonetheless, spouses were significantly less likely to report confidant use at any given time (PRs comparing spouses to patients: range 0.43–0.61). The primary confidant types with increases were nurses (both couple members) and physicians (patients). Most patients and spouses (84% to 93%) were satisfied with their confidant situation. At 3 months, the woman’s having ≥2 types of adjuvant therapy predicted greater confidant use in both partners.

Conclusions

Judging from the relative differences in confidant use, the effect of diagnosis of non-metastatic breast cancer on natural support-seeking behaviour over time is at least as strong among spouses as among their wives.

Implications for cancer survivors

The majority of women and their spouses appear satisfied with their confidant situation, even in the first months after diagnosis when this type of support-seeking behaviour increased in both partners.

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Acknowledgement of research support

This paper comes from a study supported from 1995–2000 by a research grant from the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance (#006426). E Maunsell was a National Health Research and Development Programme (NHRDP) National Health Research Scholar (1994–1999) and Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Investigator (2000–2005) when this study was planned, conducted and analyzed. S Guay and M Dorval currently each hold a Chercheur-boursier award from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ). S Lauzier holds a CIHR-funded Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research (STIHR) Psychosocial Oncology Research Training program (PORT) post-doctoral fellowship at McGill University. A Robidoux is Chairholder of the Scotiabank Chair in Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de recherche en santé des populations (URESP), Centre de recherche FRSQ du Centre hospitalier affilié universitaire de Québec, Québec, QC, Canada

    Elizabeth Maunsell, Évelyne Yandoma, Michel Dorval, Sophie Lauzier & Louise Provencher

  2. Département de Médecine sociale et préventive, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

    Elizabeth Maunsell

  3. Centre des maladies du sein Deschênes-Fabia, Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Québec, QC, Canada

    Elizabeth Maunsell, Michel Dorval, Sophie Lauzier & Louise Provencher

  4. Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin de l’Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Stéphane Guay

  5. Département de Psychiatrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Stéphane Guay

  6. Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

    Michel Dorval

  7. School of Nursing, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Sophie Lauzier

  8. Centre intégré du cancer du sein, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    André Robidoux

  9. Unité de recherche en santé des populations (URESP), Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, 1050 chemin Sainte-Foy, Québec, QC, Canada, G1S 4L8

    Elizabeth Maunsell

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  1. Elizabeth Maunsell
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  2. Stéphane Guay
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  3. Évelyne Yandoma
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  4. Michel Dorval
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  5. Sophie Lauzier
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  6. Louise Provencher
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  7. André Robidoux
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth Maunsell.

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Maunsell, E., Guay, S., Yandoma, É. et al. Patterns of confidant use among patients and spouses in the year after breast cancer. J Cancer Surviv 3, 202–211 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-009-0096-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-009-0096-z

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