RATIONALE: Studying quality of life in cancer survivors may help determine the long-term effects of breast cancer and may help improve the quality of life for future cancer survivors.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying the quality of life in African-American or Caucasian female breast cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVES:

• Compare disease-specific, generic, and global quality of life measures in African-American survivors of breast cancer with Caucasian survivors of breast cancer.
• Compare these quality of life measures in African-American survivors of breast cancer with control group of African-American women with no history of breast cancer.

OUTLINE: Patients and healthy participants complete a battery of quality of life (QOL) questionnaires over approximately 65 minutes by mail or over the phone, including the Sexual Function Index, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Fatigue, Concerns About Recurrence Scale, and other measures of symptoms/side effects (including sleep problems), the RAND Physical Functioning -10 Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression Scale, assessment of family function/social support, ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale, Reed Spiritual Perspective Scale, assessments of coping and body image, Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, and the Index of Well-being. Demographic, disease, treatment, and comorbidity information, as well as menstrual and gynecological history, work status and insurance history, and a measure of health care provider communication is collected using questionnaires and medical chart review.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 195 patients and healthy participants will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Meets 1 of the following criteria:

  • African-American or Caucasian breast cancer survivor

    • Diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer between the years of 1995-2003
    • Receiving follow up care at the Indiana University Cancer Center (IUCC), the IUCC Northside Clinic, Spring Mill Clinic, or Wishard Memorial Hospital

  • Healthy African-American

    • Acquaintance of an African-American breast cancer survivor
    • Not known to have breast cancer

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Female

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics