Bilingual Breast Cancer Educational Intervention for Hispanic Women With Stage I, Stage II, or Stage III Breast Cancer and Their Families or Caregivers

OBJECTIVES:

I. Test the effects of the Bilingual Breast Cancer Education Intervention (BBCEI) on outcomes of breast cancer survivors (BCS) and family caregivers at 1, 3, and 6 months post intervention.

II. Test the effect of influencing demographic and treatment variables on outcomes of the BBCEI at 1, 3, and 6 months post intervention.

III. Examine the perceived quality of the BBCEI.

OUTLINE: Patients and caregivers are randomized to 1 of 2 intervention arms.

ARM I: Patients and caregivers undergo the Bilingual Breast Cancer Educational Intervention (BBCEI) comprising teaching sessions over 50-65 minutes about 4 specific domains (i.e., physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well being) once weekly during month 1 and also undergo evaluation sessions at months 1, 4, and 7.

ARM II: Patients and caregivers undergo usual care comprising evaluation sessions at months 1, 4, and 7. Patients and caregivers may undergo the 4 BBCEI teaching sessions during month 7.

All patients and caregivers receive reinforcement telephone calls every other week.

Inclusion

• Histologically confirmed diagnosis of stage 0 (DCIS), I, II, or III breast cancer
• No evidence of recurrent, metastatic, or second primary cancer
• Completing primary treatment with surgery, radiation therapy (if indicated), and/or adjuvant chemotherapy (if indicated)
• Subjects may be on hormonal therapy after treatment for initial breast cancer
• Self-identification as Hispanic/Latino
• Able to read and understand English or Spanish to participate in the patient teaching
• Able and willing to participate in the study
• The Caregiver selection criteria is: self-identification as the primary caregiver; age 18 years or over; self-identification as Hispanic/Latino; Able to read and speak English or Spanish; Able and willing to participate in the study

Exclusion

• Patients will be excluded if they are actively receiving treatment with surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy; patients may be receiving adjuvant hormonal therapy such as Tamoxifen during the course of the study since it is recommended for five years after primary and adjuvant therapy
• Patients who have recurrence, metastasis, or a second primary cancer will not be recruited for the study; if however, they develop recurrence, metastasis, or a second primary cancer during the time of the study participation, the subjects will remain in the study
• Patients will not be recruited directly from support groups because of potential bias inherent in sample attending support groups; however, some patients may be participating in support groups or other forms of counseling