title: Development and pilot testing of a psychosocial intervention program for young breast cancer survivors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the development, pilot testing, and dissemination of a psychosocial intervention addressing concerns of young breast cancer survivors (YBCS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Intervention development included needs assessment with community organizations and interviews with YBCS. Based on evidence-based models of treatment, the intervention included tools for managing anxiety, fear of recurrence, tools for decision-making, and coping with sexuality/relationship issues. After pilot testing in a university setting, the program was disseminated to two community clinical settings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The program has two distinct modules (anxiety management and relationships/sexuality) that were delivered in two sessions; however, due to attrition, an all day workshop evolved. An author constructed questionnaire was used for pre- and post-intervention evaluation. Post-treatment scores showed an average increase of 2.7 points on a 10 point scale for the first module, and a 2.3 point increase for the second module. Qualitative feedback surveys were also collected. The two community sites demonstrated similar gains among their participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The intervention satisfies an unmet need for YBCS and is a possible model of integrating psychosocial intervention with oncology care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This program developed standardized materials which can be disseminated to other organizations and potentially online for implementation within community settings.
authors.affiliation: UCLA Simms-Mann Center for Integrative Oncology, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Kauser
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: UCLA Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marchand
authors.affiliation: UCLA Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: UCLA Simms-Mann Center for Integrative Oncology, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coscarelli
authors.affiliation: UCLA Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, USA. Electronic address: pganz@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ganz
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000523:psychology*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Fear of cancer recurrence; Psychosocial intervention; Quality of life; Sexuality; Young breast cancer survivors; survivorship