‘Symptom cluster of emotional distress, fatigue and cognitive difficulties among younger and older breast cancer survivors: The mediating role of subjective stress’ Brief Review

In short, this article was not of massive use to my research. It was, however, still interesting. Similarly to the last article I discussed, to analyze the role of stress in life during and after cancer is a topic absolutely worth exploring, and even more so considering its relative lack of focus earlier in history.

Firstly, it’s interesting to note that stress is lower among older women compared to younger women. There’s a chance that such a data point could come from the belief of younger women that they have their whole lives ahead of them and, therefore, have more to lose to cancer. The only viable alternative explanation I could consider is that older women may have a more stable life by that age, and as such have fewer worries as a whole.

Secondly, similar to my interest in the possible utility of self-efficacy, the role of subjective stress in cancer care is extremely interesting to me. As a major part of the larger theme of patient-centric care that’s been proven to have real effect, the idea that individuals have a role in the outcome of their treatment is extremely motivating. From an outside perspective, however, it is also important to recognize that you, too, have a role in an individual’s treatment, as either a doctor, nurse, or family member.

There are not many references I will be checking out from this article, but The prevalence of long-term symptoms of depression and anxiety after breast cancer treatment: a systematic review and comparison of Arab breast cancer survivors and healthy controls for spousal relationship, body image, and emotional distress will both be articles that I’ll take a look at.