SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SURVIVAL AMONG WOMEN WITH BREAST-CANCER

Background. Two recently reported randomized trials, one among patient s with advanced breast cancer and the other among patients with early stage melanoma, suggested that social support may affect survival favo rably, This study assesses relationships of social support indicators with 7-year survival among women diagnosed with localized or regional stage breast cancer, Methods. All newly diagnosed patients with surgic ally treated localized or regional disease in seven Quebec City hospit als in 1984 were considered for this analysis. Among 235 eligible pati ents, 224 (95%) participated in a home interview 3 months after surger y, This interview provided information on the use of confidants in the 3 months after surgery, Data on disease and treatment characteristics were abstracted from patients' medical records, Results. Compared wit h women who used no confidant in the 3 months after surgery, the hazar d ratio for the 7-year period was 0.61 (95% confidence interval [Cl], 0.33-1.12) among those who had used at least one confidant, 0.54 (95% Cl, 0.28-1.06) in women who used two or more types of confidant, and 0 .51 (95% CI, 0.22-1.18) among those whose confidants included either p hysician or nurse. These results were adjusted for age, presence of in vaded axillary lymph nodes, adjuvant radiotherapy, and adjuvant system ic therapy (hormone or chemotherapy). Conclusion. These results suppor t the view that social support may be associated with longer survival among women with localized or regional stage breast cancer.