Cognitive behaviour therapy with advanced breast cancer patients: A brief report of a pilot study

In preparation for a formal study on the effects of cognitive behavioural therapeutic intervention with advanced breast cancer patients with respect to improved emotional well‐being and increased survival, a small (n = 6) pilot study was completed. Depression, anxiety, anger and self‐esteem self‐report measures were administered to determine the outcome of a 12‐week group Cognitive Behaviour Therapy programme which used the rationalemotive therapy model (Ellis, 1991). The programme followed psycho‐educational techniques to teach coping strategies for dealing with the various emotional factors associated with advanced breast cancer. In most cases, data at post‐programme and at a three‐month follow‐up revealed improvements in depression and anger and, to a smaller extent, with self‐esteem. The findings indicate that such a programme is beneficial to advanced breast cancer patients with respect to improving some aspects of emotional well‐being. It is too early to determine whether such a programme will improve survival.