Abstract
ObjectiveTo assess the association between common survivorship issues and characteristics of breast cancer survivors presenting at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. MethodologyThis study was conducted in the medical oncology department of Jinnah Medical Postgraduate Center from March 27, 2019, to September 27, 2019. A number of 257 females of age group 18-90 years who had either completed their treatment or were undergoing treatment at the time were included using non-probability consecutive sampling techniques. Face-to-face interviews were personally conducted by the researcher, and data regarding the socio-demographics and common survivorship issues faced by breast cancer patients were obtained. The data acquired were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY).ResultsThe mean age of the breast cancer survivors were 42.58 ± 10.07 years. Of the main challenges, lack of energy received the highest mean score of 3.44 ± 1.26, followed by fatigue and financial issues. Overall the most common survivorship issue were financial issues (81.3%), followed by fatigue (80.9%), cessation of the menstrual cycle (66.1%), weak social support (59.1%), and cosmetic disfigurement (51.8%).ConclusionBreast cancer survivors have various psychological, medical, and social issues and may require unique attention during follow-up visits.
Highlights
One of the most prevalent malignancies among females is breast cancer
Within the last 10 years, the incidence of breast cancer has increased by 6%, mortality rates have decreased significantly and at present, 80% of early breast cancer patients survive for more than 10 years [2]
The current study explored the challenges faced by breast cancer survivors and its association with different factors
Summary
This study was conducted in the medical oncology department of Jinnah Medical Postgraduate Center from March 27, 2019, to September 27, 2019. A number of 257 females of age group 18-90 years who had either completed their treatment or were undergoing treatment at the time were included using non-probability consecutive sampling techniques. Face-to-face interviews were personally conducted by the researcher, and data regarding the socio-demographics and common survivorship issues faced by breast cancer patients were obtained. The data acquired were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY)
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