Quality of Life in African-American or Caucasian Female Breast Cancer Survivors

OBJECTIVES:

- Compare disease-specific, generic, and global quality of life measures in
African-American survivors of breast cancer with Caucasian survivors of breast cancer.

- Compare these quality of life measures in African-American survivors of breast cancer
with control group of African-American women with no history of breast cancer.

OUTLINE: Patients and healthy participants complete a battery of quality of life (QOL)
questionnaires over approximately 65 minutes by mail or over the phone, including the Sexual
Function Index, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Fatigue, Concerns About Recurrence
Scale, and other measures of symptoms/side effects (including sleep problems), the RAND
Physical Functioning -10 Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression Scale,
assessment of family function/social support, ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale, Reed
Spiritual Perspective Scale, assessments of coping and body image, Post-Traumatic Growth
Inventory, and the Index of Well-being. Demographic, disease, treatment, and comorbidity
information, as well as menstrual and gynecological history, work status and insurance
history, and a measure of health care provider communication is collected using
questionnaires and medical chart review.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 195 patients and healthy participants will be accrued for this
study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Meets 1 of the following criteria:

- African-American or Caucasian breast cancer survivor

- Diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer between the years of 1995-2003

- Receiving follow up care at the Indiana University Cancer Center (IUCC),
the IUCC Northside Clinic, Spring Mill Clinic, or Wishard Memorial Hospital

- Healthy African-American

- Acquaintance of an African-American breast cancer survivor

- Not known to have breast cancer

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Female

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics