The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management on Fear of Disease Progression in Women with Breast Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in human societies. Patients with various types of cancer experience high levels of psychological disorders, emotional disturbances, and fear of disease progression. Objectives: Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral stress management on fear of disease progression in women with breast cancer. Methods: This study was a clinical trial conducted on a population of women with breast cancer referred to the radiotherapy department of Ahvaz Hospital in 2022. Fifty four of these patients, who scored 85 or higher on the Fear of Progression Questionnaire (FOP) Hershbach, were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups (27 patients in each group). Patients in the intervention group received cognitive-behavioral stress management in 10 sessions of 90 minutes each, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Data analysis was performed using the chi-square test, independent t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA with a significance level of 0.05 using SPSS22 software. Results: The results showed that before the intervention, the mean score of fear of disease progression in the intervention group was 135.51 ± 8.18, which immediately after the intervention and one month later changed to 75.48 ± 7.91 and 74.55 ± 8.17, respectively. Comparison of the overall score of fear of disease progression immediately after the intervention and at the one-month follow-up in the intervention group compared to the control group showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Cognitive-behavioral stress management reduces fear of disease progression in women with breast cancer. Therefore, this method can be used as an effective approach by healthcare professionals for women with breast cancer who fear disease progression.