Abstract
Background Mastectomy is the most common form of treatment for a developing-nation woman diagnosed with breast cancer. This can have huge effect on a women's quality of life. Objective To assess mastectomy-related quality of life in female breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods A facility-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from February 1st to July 30th, 2018. A pretested structured data collection format was used to interview patients. The European Organization for Research and Treatment for Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Breast Cancer-Specific (EORTC QLQ-BR23) were used to evaluate quality of life, functional capacity, and symptom scales. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 23. Results The mean age of the 86 patients was 43.2 years (SD ± 11.4) and ranged from 25 to 70 years. 54.7% (47) of patient's mastectomy was done on the right side. Based on EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status/QOL scale, the mean score was 48.3. On the evaluation of EORTC QLQ-BR23, future perspective about their health was low with a mean of 40.3 and their sexual functioning and enjoyment were significantly affected with mean scores of 85.3 and 71.2, respectively. Symptom scales were low with mean from 19.1 to 24.5. Majority (49, 57%) of respondents do not want to have breast reconstruction after mastectomy. Conclusion Our breast cancer patients who underwent mastectomy performed poor in terms of quality of life as compared to international findings which demands attention in incorporating psychosocial aspects in the treatment plan.
Highlights
Mastectomy is the most common form of treatment for a developing-nation woman diagnosed with breast cancer
Even though significant numbers of mastectomies are done in Ethiopia, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no data which assessed the quality of life of patients after mastectomy at a national level
All female breast cancer patients who underwent mastectomy at SPHMMC were included while male breast cancer patients, female patients operated elsewhere, and patients who had mastectomy for nonmalignant conditions were excluded
Summary
Breast cancer (BC) is a potentially deadly disease affecting one in eight women. HRQOL is one of several variables commonly studied in the field of medical outcomes research It encompasses a wide range of human experience, including functioning and subjective responses to illness. Examples of cancer-specific instruments include the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) [12]. Even though significant numbers of mastectomies are done in Ethiopia, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no data which assessed the quality of life of patients after mastectomy at a national level. This study was conducted to assess the quality of life in female breast cancer patients who underwent mastectomy
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