[Mothers with breast cancer and their children: initial results regarding the effectiveness of the family oriented oncological rehabilitation program "gemeinsam gesund werden"].

When a parent has a serious somatic illness, children suffer grave distress, their risk to develop a mental disorder increases. Sick mothers, in comparison to patients without children, experience additional strain, e. g. because they worry about their children. Although many studies focus on the quality of life of breast cancer patients, little is known about the special situation of young mothers with breast cancer. Currently, a prospective study with four assessment points (pre, post, 3- and 12-months-follow-up) is conducted on a large sample of women taking part in the family-oriented inpatient rehabilitation program "gemeinsam gesund werden'. In this paper a longitudinal sample of 173 women and 153 children, their quality of life and psychological impairment prior to, after and in the course of one year after the rehabilitation is presented. Compared to the general population, the children as well as the mothers are considerably impaired, especially in regard to Psychological Health/Emotional Functioning. These impairments improve markedly within the survey period. One year after the rehabilitation, the children show no more impairment than the reference groups. The mothers improve significantly as well, however, after one year their quality of life scores are still lower than those of the general population. In conclusion, a considerable impairment of the analyzed group of mothers with breast cancer and their children, the necessity of special supportive measures as well as the effectiveness of the model rehabilitation program can be shown.