Abstract
Background: The incidence of breast cancer has more than doubled in South Korea since 1999. Breast cancer in the family affects other members such as first degree relatives. Alexithymia is a psychological construct related to an inability to express ones feelings and has been found to be useful in identifying individuals who might benefit from targeted counseling to address distress. Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of alexithymia in breast cancer patients, their sisters and healthy controls in South Korea with the aim of identifying individuals who will benefit from targeted counseling. Methods: The Korean version of the alexithymia questionnaire was used to compare the groups. The study group consisted of 98 breast cancer in-patients, out-patients, follow-up cases and lymphedema clinic attendees undergoing treatment at the Breast Care Center, Seoul National University Cancer Hospital, 50 sisters and 43 healthy controls. Results: The highest level of alexithymia was reported in patients, followed by their siblings. Healthy controls reported the lowest level of alexithymia. Difficulty in describing feeling scores has shown significant negative correlation with age and marital status among women with breast cancer. Women 51 years and above and married women have lower scores than those below 50 years aged women and those who are single, in a live-in relationship, widowed or divorced. No such significant correlation was observed among siblings and control group. The intensity of cancer was a significant predictor of the alexithymia score. Patients with T4 stage disease reported the highest levels of alexithymia. No significant differences were found among patients with lower staging. Conclusion: Not only breast cancer patients, but also their sisters show significantly more alexithymia than their healthy counterparts. Counselors can use the alexithymia questionnaire to identify persons who require support to prevent or reduce psychological problems in patients and siblings.
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