Family Communication Patterns in Coping with Early Breast Cancer

Diagnosis of a life-threatening disease is a major family stressor. How family members communicate with each other about the situation and their fears has received little study. The communication patterns of 41 couples where the woman was newly diagnosed with Stage 1 or 2 breast cancer were investigated. Family interviews were done at five points, from the time of diagnosis to 1 year later. Qualitative grounded theory methods were triangulated with responses to the Couple Communication Scale and State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Three major types of couple discussion patterns about fears, doubts, and emotional issues were seen, based on whether they shared similar or different views about the importance of talking. Some couples talked openly or reasonably openly. Others did not talk to each other, although a few of these talked to other people. Another group, who held divergent views, demonstrated more problems in their communication. Selective open disclosure was generally perceived as the most satisfactory of the patterns. Quantitative findings generally supported the talking themes that emerged.