Monthly Archives: February 2012

TUESDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- After breast cancer treatment, many women suffer from hot flashes and night sweats, but a type of "talk therapy" might relieve these symptoms for some women, British researchers suggest. In a new study, women who received this form of psychotherapy, known as cognitive behavioral therapy, had reduced their symptoms by half within six months. "Hot flashes and night sweats are distressing symptoms, which cause social embarrassment and sleep problems, and they are challenging to treat, especially for women who have had breast cancer" because hormone replacement therapy is generally not recommended for these women, explained lead researcher Myra Hunter. According to background information in the study, which is published in the Feb. 15 online edition of The Lancet Oncology, 65 percent to 85 percent of women have hot flashes after breast cancer treatment. Group cognitive behavioral therapy is a safe and effective treatment for women who have hot flashes and night sweats following breast cancer treatment, Hunter said, with additional benefits to mood, sleep and quality of life. "The women in this trial reported frequent and problematic symptoms and relatively low quality of life," said Hunter, a professor of clinical health psychology at King's … Continue reading →

Background Hot flushes and night sweats (HFNS) affect 65—85% of women after breast cancer treatment; they are distressing, causing sleep problems and decreased quality of life. Hormone replacement therapy is often either undesirable or contraindicated. Safe, effective non-hormonal treatments are needed. We investigated whether cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help breast cancer survivors to effectively manage HFNS. Methods In this randomised controlled trial, we recruited women from breast clinics in London, UK, who had problematic HFNS (minimum ten problematic episodes a week) after breast-cancer treatment. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either usual care or usual care plus group CBT (1:1). Randomisation was done in blocks of 12—20 participants, stratifying by age (younger than 50 years, 50 years or older), and was done with a computer-generated sequence. The trial statistician and researchers collecting outcome measures were masked to group allocation. Group CBT comprised one 90 min session a week for 6 weeks, and included psycho-education, paced breathing, and cognitive and behavioural strategies to manage HFNS. Assessments were done at baseline, 9 weeks, and 26 weeks after randomisation. The primary outcome was the adjusted mean difference in HFNS problem rating (1—10) between CBT and usual care groups at 9 weeks after … Continue reading →

In this randomised controlled trial, the authors recruited 96 women from breast clinics in London, UK, who had problematic HFNS (minimum ten problematic episodes a week) after breast-cancer treatment. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either usual care (49) or usual care plus group CBT (47). Group CBT comprised one 90 min session a week for 6 weeks, and included psycho-education, paced breathing, and cognitive and behavioural strategies to manage HFNS. Assessments were done at baseline, 9 weeks, and 26 weeks after randomisation. The primary outcome was the adjusted mean difference in HFNS problem rating (1-10) between CBT and usual care groups at 9 weeks after randomisation. Usual care is having access to nurses and oncologists, as well as survivorship telephone support programmes and cancer support services. The authors found that group CBT significantly reduced HFNS problem rating at 9 weeks after randomisation compared with usual care. Encouragingly, these improvements were maintained at 26 weeks. Scores out of 10 for CBT declined from an initial average of 6.5 to 3.5 at 9 weeks (46% reduction) and to 3.1 at 26 weeks (52% reduction); equivalent usual care scores were 6.1, 5.0 and 4.6 (representing reductions of 19% and 25%). The authors … Continue reading →