Trajectories of Fear of Cancer Recurrence: A Longitudinal Study on Spouses of Young and Middle-Aged Patients With Breast Cancer Postoperative Chemotherapy.

Objective: Spouses of young and middle-aged patients diagnosed with breast cancer encounter various challenges, among which fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is particularly prominent. This study aimed to identify distinct FCR trajectories and investigate related factors.

Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted with 230 spouses of patients with breast cancer at a medical college affiliated hospital in China. FCR was assessed at five time points: 1-3 days before the surgery to 7 months after the surgery. A growth mixture model was used to identify latent categories of the FCR developmental trajectory. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test and multiple logistics regression were used to analyze the influencing factors for the FCR trajectories.

Results: Three FCR trajectories were identified: recovery class (RC, 32.2%), gradually improved class (GIC, 53.1%), and high class (HC, 14.7%). The place of residence, chronic disease, primary caregiver, and education influenced the developmental trajectory of FCR in spouses of patients with breast cancer postoperative chemotherapy.

Conclusions: Group heterogeneity in FCR was observed among spouses, mostly at moderate levels. Appropriate psychosocial care should be provided particularly to spouses with lower education levels and chronic conditions and those acting as primary caregivers.