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Aim Anxiety and its correlates in parents of patients with breast cancer have rarely been studied. We explored anxiety among parents of postoperative patients with breast cancer and its relationship with parents' social support and care needs and patients' anxiety. Methods A cross‐sectional survey using self‐report questionnaires and medical records was conducted among patients with breast cancer after surgery and their parents at four designated cancer care hospitals between September 2015 and June 2016. Anxiety was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Parents provided information about social support and care needs. Multilevel analysis was performed on patient–parent paired data controlling for patient‐level variation. Results Participants included 107 patients, 83 mothers, and 51 fathers. The mean HADS anxiety scores reported by mothers and fathers were 7.2 and 6.5, respectively, which were higher than patients' HADS anxiety scores. Fulfillment of important care needs was related to lower anxiety among mothers and fathers (estimate = −1.38, p = .01). Lower family support and higher patient anxiety were associated with higher anxiety in mothers, but not fathers. Conclusions Parents of patients with breast cancer had high anxiety. Communication, providing cancer‐related information, and fulfilling care needs can alleviate anxiety in parents of patients with breast cancer after surgery. Furthermore, increasing family support and decreasing patients' anxiety are essential to alleviating mothers' anxiety.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the contents of communication between breast cancer survivors and their adolescent children and to develop a reliable and valid communication scale on maternal breast cancer. Methods: The items were extracted from expert and cognitive interviews. The pilot test comprised self-report questionnaires distributed among 97 adolescents aged 12-18 years whose mothers were diagnosed with breast cancer; a retest was conducted on 34 adolescents. Validity was confirmed by testing factorial, known-groups, convergent, and discriminant validity. Reliability was confirmed by measuring internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Results: The mean age of the participants was 14.8 ± 2.0 years, and 51 (52.6%) of them were female. The average age of being informed about maternal breast cancer was 12.5 ± 2.7 years. Confirmatory factor analysis supported 14 items and a 3-factor model, which included expression of negative feelings (first factor), sharing information about breast cancer (second factor), and relationship with the mother (third factor): χ 2 /df = 1.21, goodness-of-fit index = .892, comparative fit index = .973, root mean square error of approximation = .047, and Akaike information criterion = 154.074. For convergent validity, the family adaptability, partnership, growth, affection, and resolve scale confirmed weak correlations for the total, second factor, and third factor scores. Cronbach's α for the total, first, second, and third factors were . 863, .764, .882, and .810, respectively. Conclusions: The reliability and validity of the communication scale were confirmed. The scale can help nurses understand and evaluate mother-adolescent communication and devise interventions for facilitating informative, effective, and open discussions regarding maternal breast cancer.