Survivorship Booklets With or Without Individual Telephone Sessions in Increasing Knowledge About the Impact of Breast Cancer in African American and Latina Breast Cancer Survivors

RATIONALE: Telephone sessions and survivorship booklets may increase knowledge about the psychological and physical impact of breast cancer and increase awareness of available resources. It is not yet known whether survivorship booklets are more effective when given alone or together with individual telephone sessions in informing breast cancer survivors. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying individual telephone sessions given together with survivorship booklets compared with survivorship booklets alone to see how well they work in increasing knowledge about the impact of breast cancer in African American and Latina breast cancer survivors.

Sex

Female

Minimum age

18 Years

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Diagnosed with breast cancer within the past 1-5 years

  * Stage I-IIIA disease
* No metastatic disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* No other major disabling medical (e.g., another cancer, stroke, heart disease) or psychiatric conditions
* Self-identified ethnically as African-American or Latina
* Able to read and/or speak English or Spanish
* No severe depression or anxiety

  * History of mild to moderate depression or anxiety allowed
* Not pregnant
* Not incarcerated

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* Any type of prior anticancer therapy allowed