The effect of psychological group intervention on emotional problems, event impact and quality of life in breast cancer patients under radiotherapy: a pilot study

Background: Health-related quality of life is an important end point in breast cancer care. Assessing quality of life in breast cancer patients could contribute to improved treatment outcome and could even serve as monitor along with medical parameters. The need for psychosocial support is well established among breast cancer patients with levels of psychological distress and depression, particularly after diagnosis and treatment. Cancer support helps patients to cope with cancer by adjusting their attitudes, knowledge, and expectation about the disease. Aim: To determine the impact of support group intervention on quality of life of patients with advanced breast cancer To create awareness, educate, counsel and support as well as to mediate in the weaknesses of the medical care system in dealing with breast cancer patients. Methods: A prospective cohort study involving breast cancer patients using a system of breast cancer support group that organizes a two month period meeting for all breast patients in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu. Educational information on breast cancer, nutritional needs, exercise and the need for regular follow-up in breast cancer care were given to them as well as the means of overcoming the psychosocial burden in cancer. QOL assessment evaluating the four domains (physical, social, psychological and environmental) on selected patients with advanced breast cancer using WHO BREF was administered. Results: A total of 113 breast cancer patients were involved in this study. At the end of the intervention, 14 women (12.4%) were censored due to death, while postassessment was carried out for only 99 women. Postintervention analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between availability of social support to respondents (FS score) and the four quality of life domains ( P < 0.05). Further analysis also showed that respondents' quality of life significantly increased across all domains at postintervention ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: Patients receiving support group intervention all had improved quality of life.

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Additional Therapy with a Mistletoe Product during Adjuvant Chemotherapy of Breast Cancer Patients Improves Quality of Life: An Open Randomized Clinical Pilot Trial

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2014/430518 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Wilfried Tröger ◽

Zdravko Ždrale ◽

Nevena Tišma ◽

Miodrag Matijašević

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Quality Of Life ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Adjuvant Chemotherapy ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Pilot Trial ◽

Control Group ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Open Label

Background. Breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy often experience a loss of quality of life. Moreover chemotherapy may induce neutropenia. Patients report a better quality of life when additionally treated with mistletoe products during chemotherapy.Methods. In this prospective randomized open-label pilot study 95 patients were randomized into three groups. All patients were treated with an adjuvant chemotherapy. The primary objective of the study was quality of life, the secondary objective was neutropenia. Here we report the comparison of HxA (n= 34) versus untreated control (n= 31).Results. In the explorative analysis ten of 15 scores of the EORTC QLQ-C30 showed a better quality of life in the HxA group compared to the control group (P<0.001toP=0.038in Dunnett-T3 test). The difference was clinically relevant (difference of at least 5 points, range 5.4–12.2) in eight of the ten scores. Neutropenia occurred in 7/34 HxA patients and in 8/31 control patients (P= 0.628).Conclusions. This pilot study showed an improvement of quality of life by treating breast cancer patients with HxA additionally to CAF. Although the open design may be a limitation, the findings show the feasibility of a confirmatory study using the methods described here.

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