Self-perceived health status of Irish breast cancer survivors

Abstract

There is a paucity of data on the health status of breast cancer survivors. To measure the self-perceived health status of a cohort of breast cancer survivors by means of the SF-36 questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to 120 survey participants. Findings were compared with those of an external comparison group. The health status of the survey participants was found to be significantly better than that of the comparison group on four of the eight SF-36 dimensions--social functioning, mental health, vitality and general health perceptions. The self-perceived health status of breast cancer survivors merits further research in the Irish context. Inclusion of the SF-36 questionnaire as an outcome measure is recommended.