Breast cancer patients can be approached for genetic counseling at the beginning of their radiotherapy treatment (radiation) without this causing additional psychological distress.
In spite of this, certain patients were found to be more vulnerable; in these patients, a high level of psychological distress shortly after the operation is the main predictor for a high level of psychological distress in the long term. This is put forward by Kathy Schlich in her doctoral dissertation.
She also came to the conclusion that, over time, the psychological distress experienced by the partner affects the patient’s psychological distress. According to breast cancer patients, their surgeon is the one who should tell them about the possibility of hereditary breast cancer; 81 percent of the patients thought they had been approached at the right time or would have liked to have been approached sooner.
Schlich compared the psychological distress of 220 breast cancer patients and their partners with that of 182 patients who were not eligible for genetic counseling. Information on the risks related to the possibility of hereditary breast cancer can influence the choices breast cancer patients make with regard to their treatment. If a genetic predisposition is established, it could be presumed they would be more likely to choose for a double mastectomy because women who are carriers have a greater risk of developing breast cancer a second time.
Kathy Schlich will receive her PhD from Utrecht University on June 26. The title of her dissertation is “Breast cancer genetic counseling during adjuvant radiotherapy: patients' psychological distress.”