Abstract
BackgroundThe continuously increasing survivorship of female breast cancer makes the monitoring and improvement of patients’ quality of life ever so important. While globally there is a growing body of research on health-related quality of life 1 year after surgical treatment for non-metastatic breast cancer, up-to-date information regarding Greek patients is scarce.ObjectiveTo measure the level of QoL of non-metastatic BC survivors in Greece 1 year after surgery.MethodsA sample of 200 female breast cancer survivors aged 18 to 75, who followed up as outpatients in five public hospitals were included in this cross-sectional study. All recruited patients agreed to participate in the study (100% response rate). Quality of life data were collected through the EORTC QLQ-C30 as well as BR23 questionnaires.ResultsCronbach’s alpha for all scales of the two questionnaires was from 0.551 to 0.936 indicating very good reliability. According to the Multiple Linear Regression, older patients showed a lower future perspective (p = .031), with those living in rural areas, which was associated with more financial difficulties (p = .001). Women with tertiary education and those who had been hospitalized in a university hospital recorded better on global health status (p = .003 and .000 respectively). Patients who underwent chemotherapy reported better scores in the emotional function sub-scale (p = .025). Women with reconstruction and at least one complication appeared to have significantly better scores in future perspective and social function (p = .005, .002 respectively).ConclusionsBreast cancer survivors were found to have an overall good quality of life, functioning/symptoms scores and were satisfied with the provided care.
Highlights
The continuously increasing survivorship of female breast cancer makes the monitoring and improvement of patients’ quality of life ever so important
The variable “residence” showed that women with Breast cancer (BC) who lived in rural places had more financial difficulties and a low score on body image compared to women who lived urban areas and the Athens metropolitan area (AMA)
High scores on the subscale of pain, diarrhea, and breast/ arm morbidity were statistically significant in women residing in the AMA, who scored low on cognitive as well
Summary
The continuously increasing survivorship of female breast cancer makes the monitoring and improvement of patients’ quality of life ever so important. Because of the advances of systemic therapies, the widely used screening programs, and the high incidence of BC, the number of BC survivors is continuously increasing [2] Despite their benefits these therapies have numerous side effects, which adversely affect patients’ quality of life (QoL). The assessment of the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a reliable tool which measures the degree to which a chronic disease or condition and its treatment can affect patients’ QoL. It provides healthcare professionals with data about health status and highlights problems that are difficult to be recognized during daily care or consultation [6]. Longterm problems include cognitive function, sleep disorders, sexual issues, hot flashes, pain, fatigue, and polyneuropathy [8]
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