Abstract
This study examined the effect of a cognitive–behavioral stress management (CBSM) intervention on emotional well-being and immune function among women in the months following surgery for early-stage breast cancer.
Twenty-nine women were randomly assigned to receive either a 10-week CBSM intervention (
n=18) or a comparison experience (
n=11). The primary psychological outcome measure was benefit finding. The primary immune function outcome measure was in vitro lymphocyte proliferative response to anti CD3.
Women in the CBSM intervention reported greater perceptions of benefit from having breast cancer compared to the women in the comparison group. At 3-month follow-up, women in the CBSM group also had improved lymphocyte proliferation. Finally, increases in benefit finding after the 10-week intervention predicted increases in lymphocyte proliferation at the 3-month follow-up.
A CBSM intervention for women with early-stage breast cancer facilitated positive emotional responses to their breast cancer experience in parallel with later improvement in cellular immune function.
