QUALITY OF LIFE IN BRAZILIAN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER – ASSOCIATION WITH THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Background and Aims: The incidence of breast cancer is increasing in Brazil, constituting a major cause of morbidity and mortality with major social and epidemiological impact. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between social support before the treatment of breast cancer and quality of life (QOL) six months after starting treatment. Methods: Eligible participants were women with no history of cancer and who were treated for breast cancer in National Cancer Institute of June/2009-March/2010. The evaluation of the social support was performed before the oncology treatment. EORTC QLQ-C30 was used to measure quality of life. Medical Outcomes Survey-Social Support Survey was used to assess social support. The bivariate analysis of dichotomous variables and odds ratio with confidence interval 95% were analyzed. Results: 195 women were evaluated and it was observed that good emotional support is a protective factor for overall health (OR=0.42 95% CI 0.23-0.79) and scale functionality (OR=0.36 95% 0, 18-0.71). The information support was associated with better global health (OR=0.41 95% CI 0.22-0.76), functionality (OR=0.35 95% CI 0.18-0.70) and symptoms scale (OR=0.38 95% CI 0.18-0.77). Women who reported good emotional support showed reduced of 70% to have general health problems after six months of treatment (95% CI 0.13-0.65). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that a good social environment in which these women are inserted prior to treatment showed a positive association with the better quality of life six months after surgery in women with breast cancer, underscoring the importance of environmental assessment of the social in these patients.