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Support Groups Help With Breast Cancer Fears

Canadian researchers focused on 70 women carrying BRCA1 or 2 gene mutations, the so-called "cancer genes," which create up to a 90 percent lifetime risk of breast or ovarian cancers.

Mary Jane Esplen of the University Health Network and the University of Toronto and her colleagues followed 70 women who participated in 12 group sessions of "supportive-expressive group therapy." They found that women who participated in group therapy suffered less anxiety and depression. The group therapy also helped women decide whether or not to pursue surgery by giving them an opportunity to fully examine their treatment options.

"The groups appeared to be an ideal forum for exploring key issues such as the notification of test results to family, guilt around transmission of a mutation, and decision-making around risk-reducing options," the researchers said in a prepared statement.