Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

"1 in 8 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Breast cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy have significantly improved breast cancer survival, and the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer live long after treatment completion. However, breast cancer treatment is associated with chronic pain in some people. Most breast cancer survivors do not anticipate experiencing pain after treatment and report high levels of distress related to pain. Distress is particularly common in younger breast cancer survivors who more commonly report psychological challenges such as fear of cancer recurrence. This can impact their interpretation and perceived intensity of cancer pain. Pain acceptance is a psychological construct that has been associated with better outcomes in advanced cancer patients and may be related to pain appraisal constructs such as fear of cancer recurrence. This study will explore the relationship between pain intensity and psychological factors including fear of cancer recurrence and pain acceptance."