From Provision of Information, Through Activation, to Changing the Social World. The Amazonki Associations as a Source of Comprehensive Support for Women with Breast Cancer

This work presents the phenomenon of mutual help and social support in a group of patients with breast cancer, against the background of transformations of the whole Amazonki (Amazons) movement. Social organizations embracing women after breast cancer treatment have been operating in Poland for over 30 years. In that time, they have proven their usefulness and importance. Since the beginning of their existence, the Amazons clubs were oriented to providing support, widely understood, to women patients in oncological wards and club members; they have been successful in that area so far. What is important is the fact that individual clubs of women after cancer treatment are not separate social units, but form a federation which, since the early 1990s, has been directing the process of rationalizing their operations. This work describes that process in general and presents the stage at which the Amazons movement is at present. What is interesting, the stagnation which has overcome the whole movement seems to have little or no effect at all on the functioning of separate associations, which pursue their statutory goal to support sick women in recovery and improve their quality of life.

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The impact of lymphedema on health-related quality of life up to 10 years after breast cancer treatment

npj Breast Cancer ◽

10.1038/s41523-021-00276-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mads G. Jørgensen ◽

Navid M. Toyserkani ◽

Frederik G. Hansen ◽

Anette Bygum ◽

Jens A. Sørensen

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Quality Of Life ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Breast Cancer Treatment ◽

Health Related Quality ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

The Impact

AbstractThe impact of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) on long-term quality of life is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of BCRL on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) up to 10 years after breast cancer treatment. This regional population-based study enrolled patients treated for breast cancer with axillary lymph node dissection between January 1st 2007 and December 31th 2017. Follow up and assessments of the included patients were conducted between January 2019 and May 2020. The study outcome was HRQoL, evaluated with the Lymphedema Functioning, Disability and Health Questionnaire, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire and the Short Form (36) Health Survey Questionnaire. Multivariate linear logistic regression models adjusted for confounders provided mean score differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals in each HRQoL scale and item. This study enrolled 244 patients with BCRL and 823 patients without BCRL. Patients with BCRL had significantly poorer HRQoL than patients without BCRL in 16 out of 18 HRQoL subscales, for example, in physical function (MDs 27, 95%CI: 24; 30), mental health (MDs 24, 95%CI: 21; 27) and social role functioning (MDs 20, 95%CI: 17; 23). Age, BMI, BCRL severity, hand and dominant arm affection had only minor impact on HRQoL (MDs < 5), suggesting a high degree of inter-individual variation in coping with lymphedema. This study showed that BCRL is associated with long-term impairments in HRQoL, especially affecting the physical and psychosocial domains. Surprisingly, BCRL diagnosis rather than clinical severity drove the largest impairments in HRQoL.

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Improving the quality of life of patients with breast cancer-related lymphoedema by lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA): study protocol of a multicentre randomised controlled trial

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035337 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. e035337 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joost Wolfs ◽

Jop Beugels ◽

Merel Kimman ◽

Andrzej A Piatkowski de Grzymala ◽

Esther Heuts ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Quality Of Life ◽

Lymph Node ◽

Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Conservative Treatment ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Breast Cancer Treatment ◽

Randomised Controlled

IntroductionEarly breast cancer detection and advancements in treatment options have resulted in an increase of breast cancer survivors. An increasing number of women are living with the long-term effects of breast cancer treatment, making the quality of survivorship an increasingly important goal. Breast cancer-related lymphoedema (BCRL) is one of the most underestimated complications of breast cancer treatment with a reported incidence of 20%. A microsurgical technique called lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) might be a promising treatment modality for patients with BCRL. The main objective is to assess whether LVA is more effective than the current standard therapy (conservative treatment) in terms of improvement in quality of life and weather it is cost-effective.Methods and analysisA multicentre, randomised controlled trial, carried out in two academic and two community hospitals in the Netherlands. The study population includes 120 women over the age of 18 who have undergone treatment for breast cancer including axillary treatment (sentinel lymph node biopsy or axillary lymph node dissection) and/or axillary radiotherapy, presenting with an early stage lymphoedema of the arm, viable lymphatic vessels and received at least 3 months conservative treatment. Sixty participants will undergo the LVA operation and the other sixty will continue their regular conservative treatment, both with a follow-up of 24 months. The primary outcome is the health-related quality of life. Secondary outcomes are societal costs, quality adjusted life years, cost-effectiveness ratio, discontinuation rate of conservative treatment and excess limb volume.Ethics and disseminationThe study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Maastricht University Medical Center (METC) on 19 December 2018 (NL67059.068.18). The results of this study will be disseminated in presentations at academic conferences, publications in peer-reviewed journals and other news media.Trial registration numberNCT02790021; Pre-results.

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