The Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting brought together experts who are leading the narrative in key areas of behavioral medicine including cancer prevention and control, nutrition and weight management, women’s health, and health disparities. It was great to be one of the behavioral scientists who are courageously tacking some of our country’s most harmful illnesses through research, training, and community outreach. During Friday night’s poster session, I presented my work on social constraints, emotional intelligence, and fear of recurrence in African-American breast cancer survivors. The poster showed that African-American breast cancer survivors who experience rejection from family and friends when attempting to disclose their cancer-related emotions tend to experience greater levels of fear of recurrence- even when they have the tendency to be cognizant of their emotions. The results of the study have implications for clinicians who work with African-American breast cancer survivors- receiving supportive emotional support from family members and friends is an important part of a survivors’ ability to cognitively process the trauma of breast cancer. When left lingering cancer-related emotions, African-American breast cancer survivors could suffer from greater concerns, worries, and fears about the possibility of having a recurrence.
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