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A diagnosis of breast cancer is a psychologically stressful event for any woman. Many
women seek the support of group or individual therapy to deal with the emotional hardships
of the disease. Now, two new studies find that Internet support groups are also effective
at lifting the spirits of breast cancer patients. In particular, the studies found that
Internet support was helpful at relieving depression and stress from breast cancer. The
researchers suggest that "web-based support" may be especially helpful for women
who live in rural areas and lack sufficient social resources.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women, aside from non-melanoma
skin cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 211,300 new cases
of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United States in 2003. An
additional 55,700 women will be diagnosed with carcinoma in situ,
an early, non-invasive form of breast cancer.
It has been widely reported that cancer patients who participate in support groups
experience a reduction in the psychological pain and stress associated with their disease.
However, little information has been available about the effectiveness of web-based
support systems even though the Pew Charitable Trust estimates that approximately two
million American adults search for health or medical information on the Internet and
nearly 5 million Americans are part of online support groups.
To study Internet-based support groups, Andrew J. Winzelberg, Ph.D. of Stanford
University School of Medicine and his colleagues studied 72 women with breast cancer who
participated in 12 weeks of Internet-based "therapy" through the Bosom Buddies
online support group. The results showed that online support was effective at reducing
depression and stress among the breast cancer patients. Most participants felt that they
benefited from the experience.
In a similar study, Morton A. Lieberman, Ph.D. of the University of California at San
Francisco and his colleagues studied 32 women, divided into four groups, who participated
in 16 weeks of online support for breast cancer. Approximately half of the women lived in
rural areas or small towns, 41% lived in medium cities, and 10% lived in large cities. The
study found a reduction in depression and improvement on a post-traumatic events
questionnaire after the online therapy.
Dr. Lieberman’s team also found that the 20% of women who withdrew from the study
tended to have higher levels of anxiety compared to the other women and appeared to be
more likely to suppress their thoughts and feelings regarding their disease. The
researchers conclude that their findings are encouraging and that Internet support groups
may be particularly helpful for women who live in rural areas where support systems are
not widely available to them. In addition, the no-cost benefit of online support groups
may be advantageous for some women.
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