Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on the fear of cancer recurrence and post-traumatic growth among patients with breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common chronic diseases and the second leading cause of death among women with many physical and psychological complications requiring appropriate treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy on the fear of cancer recurrence and post-traumatic growth in patients with breast cancer.

This study was a quasi-experimental design with pretest, posttest in the experimental and control groups. Among breast cancer patients referred to the Association of Cancer Patients Koomesh, 20 breast cancer patients were selected and randomly assigned into experimental(n=10)and control(n=10)groups. Fear of cancer recurrence ((FCRI) and post-traumatic growth (PTG) questionnaires completed by patients in two stages: before and after intervention.

Results of multivariate covariance analysis showed significant differences in the fear of cancer recurrence (P = 0.026) and Post-traumatic growth (P = 0.005) among two groups.

Considering the impact on acceptance and commitment therapy in fear of cancer recurrence and post-traumatic growth on the breast cancer patients can used this intervention to improve the psychological problems of patients with breast cancer.