News Release

CHAPEL HILL -- Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University are assisting couples in which the woman has a diagnosis of early stage breast cancer – a study with $2.5 million in funding from the National Cancer Institute.

The five-year study’s goal is to help couples alleviate the distress that comes with a diagnosis of cancer and adapt constructively to the diagnosis. Only one published, well-controlled treatment study is known to exist that focuses on couples in which the female has breast cancer.

A UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center seed grant enabled a pilot project for the study. Dr. Donald Baucom, professor and director of clinical psychology within the College of Arts and Sciences’ department of psychology, is the study’s principal investigator. He also is a member of UNC Lineberger.

"A diagnosis of breast cancer has an immediate, major psychological impact on most women," Baucom said. "Male partners also are strongly affected when their female partners develop breast cancer. The general concern that males have for their female partners can be heightened even more when partners’ roles change and as the couple addresses issues related to the female’s concerns about body image.

"Also, this can be a time when couples step back and reevaluate their lives, putting things into perspective."

The UNC-Duke study seeks to help women and their partners adapt in the most positive manner to the significant stressor of cancer diagnosis, Baucom added.

"We will work with couples who feel they are struggling with the stress of breast cancer, as well as couples who believe they are functioning well and want to further enhance their abilities to respond to cancer. The title of our project, ‘CanThrive,’ reflects our philosophy of what is possible if couples work together," he said.

From a research point of view, the large sample of nearly 300 couples also will allow investigators to explore in detail how they may assist a wide range of couples, said Dr. Laura Porter, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and the study’s principal investigator at Duke.

"Our study will build on the one completed study in Australia conducted with women with breast or gynecological cancer and their partners. We are delighted that Drs. Scott and Halford from Australia are collaborating with us on this study. We also are building ties with colleagues in Germany who plan to conduct similar studies there. Our hope is that we can learn how to work with couples in various cultures to address the needs of women with breast cancer and their partners."

The study will involve 292 married women or women in a stable, committed relationship who recently received a diagnosis of early stage breast cancer. All of the participating women also are seeking care or treatment in the Triangle. The women will be randomly assigned to one of three experiences: cancer-focused relationship enhancement, couple’s cancer education or cancer-related Internet and community resources.

Couples in cancer-focused relationship enhancement will attend six sessions, spaced approximately every two weeks, conducted by a health educator; each couple will be seen individually. Couples in the couple’s cancer education experience will be seen for six sessions every two weeks; they will receive educational information about breast cancer, its treatment and side effects. Couples in the cancer-related Internet and community resources experience will receive lists of community resources and contact information for support groups.

All couples will complete a variety of measures at pretreatment, posttreatment and six and 12 months following the end of their primary study participation.

For more information on the study, call (919) 843-2073 or (888) 668-2805.

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UNC Lineberger contact: Dianne Shaw, (919) 966-5905 or dgs@med.unc.edu

Duke University Medical Center contact: Becky Levine, (919) 684-4148

UNC News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu