Stress management training for breast cancer surgery patients

Objective This study evaluated the psychological effects of a pre‐surgical stress management training (SMT) in cancer patients. Methods Stress management training comprised four sessions in total: on 5 days and 1 day pre‐surgery and on 2 days and 1 month post‐surgery. Patients also received audio CDs with relaxation and coping skills exercises. Patients were randomly assigned to the SMT ( N  = 34) or a regular care condition ( N  = 36). Depression, anxiety, quality of life, perception of control, fatigue, pain, sleep problems, and surgery‐related somatic symptoms were measured at Day 6 and Day 1 pre‐surgery, and Day 2, 5, 30 and 90 post‐surgery. Results Depression and fatigue decreased in the intervention group and increased in the control group, leading to significant group differences at Day 2 (fatigue) and Day 5 post‐surgery (fatigue and depression). It also appeared that surgery‐related symptoms had increased more in the control group 3 months post‐surgery than in the SMT group. No intervention effects were observed for anxiety, pain, and sleep problems. Conclusion The use of a short psychological intervention is effective in reducing depression and fatigue in the post‐surgical period, although the effects are of short duration. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.