RATIONALE: Gathering information about psychological and social adjustment after radiation therapy in patients with cancer may help doctors plan the best treatment.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying psychosocial adjustment after radiation therapy in patients with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, or prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES:

• To describe psychosocial adjustment after radiotherapy in patients with stage I, II, or III breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer.
• To determine if cognitive appraisal of health predicts psychosocial adjustment of these patients after radiotherapy.
• To examine whether social support moderates the relationship between cognitive appraisal of health and psychosocial adjustment of these patients after radiotherapy.
• To examine whether self-efficacy for coping with cancer moderates the relationship between cognitive appraisal of health and psychosocial adjustment of these patients after radiotherapy.
• To measure the effect of symptom distress, uncertainty, medical factors, and personal factors on cognitive appraisal of health of these patients before ending radiotherapy.

OUTLINE: Two weeks before completing planned radiotherapy, patients undergo assessment of stress appraisal and other factors predictive of post-radiotherapy psychosocial adjustment. Patients complete psychosocial assessments, including measures of patient perceptions of their illness (i.e., cognitive appraisal) and of the factors influencing their perceptions (i.e., uncertainty by the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Community Form; symptom distress by the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short Form; and comorbidity by the Charlson Comorbidity Index). Measures of patient social support and self-efficacy for coping are also assessed. At 1 month after completion of radiotherapy, patients undergo repeat assessment of stress appraisal and psychosocial adjustment.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer

  • Stage I, II, or III disease
  • Nonmetastatic disease

• Undergoing first course of curative radiotherapy, as indicated in the medical record

  • Receiving treatment as an outpatient

• Hormone receptor status not specified

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Menopausal status not specified
• Able to receive treatment as an outpatient
• Lives in northeastern Ohio
• Cognitively intact, as evidenced by orientation to person, place, and time
• Has a telephone
• No hearing impairment (must be able to hear instructions)
• No malignancy expected to require surgery or chemotherapy ≤ 2 months after treatment

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No prior radiotherapy for another type of cancer
• No concurrent or planned chemotherapy or surgery for at least 2 months after radiotherapy
• No concurrent treatment for recurrent cancer

Primary care clinic