scholarly journals Coping Strategies, Pain, and Quality of Life in Patients with Breast Cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 4469
Author(s):  
Edyta Ośmiałowska ◽  
Weronika Misiąg ◽  
Mariusz Chabowski ◽  
Beata Jankowska-Polańska

Introduction: Each year, around 16,500 women in Poland are diagnosed with breast cancer, the second most common cause of death in women. In Poland, nearly 70,000 women live with breast cancer diagnosed within the last 5 years. Quality of life (QoL) research is particularly important in cancer patients, as it provides knowledge on their psychological and physical health, as well as the environment in which the patients function, all of which is essential to implementing multidisciplinary care involving the best use of the appropriate methods. Carrying the burden of cancer is a major challenge for patients. The strategy that patients use to cope with breast cancer significantly affects their quality of life. The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of coping strategies on the QoL in breast cancer patients. Material and Methods: The prospective study included a group of 202 women who had undergone surgical treatment for breast cancer at the Lower Silesian Cancer Center and who reported for follow-up appointments at the Oncology Clinic and the Surgical Oncology Clinic. For the study, we used the: EORTC QLQ-C30 cancer questionnaire, EORTC QLQ-BR23 module, Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC) scale, visual analog scale (VAS) for pain intensity, as well as the patients’ medical records, hospital records, and our own survey form. Results: The mean patient age was 53 years. Most patients had been diagnosed with cancer between one and two years before. In the women studied, there was a negative association between QoL and the choice of a destructive strategy for coping with cancer, and a positive one between QoL and a constructive coping strategy. Severe pain caused by the disease and its treatment significantly decreased the patients’ QoL in multiple domains. Conclusions: Patients choosing constructive strategies obtained higher QoL scores, while greater reliance on destructive coping strategies was associated with significantly worse QoL. In all functioning domains, higher levels of pain were associated with poorer QoL and more severe symptoms associated with the disease and its treatment.

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. viii59-viii60 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Bjelic-Radisic ◽  
A. Bottomley ◽  
F. Cardoso ◽  
D. Cameron ◽  
E. Brain ◽  
...  

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-81
Author(s):  
Fatma M. El Sharkawi ◽  
Mahmoud F. Sakr ◽  
Hoda Y. Atta ◽  
Hafez M. Ghanem

The impact of breast cancer therapy on the quality of life [QL] of Egyptian women was studied. Patients were divided into four groups:1:mastectomy alone;2:surgery plus radiotherapy;3:surgery plus chemotherapy;and 4:triple modality. The results revealed that all the four domains of QL of women having adjuvant therapy [groups 2, 3, or 4] were significantly altered compared to those who underwent mastectomy alone. Triple modality adversely affected global QL the most compared to radiotherapy or chemotherapy;radiotherapy had significantly less effect on QL compared to chemotherapy. Triple modality predicted the worst QL. QL measures should be incorporated with the traditional end points for evaluation of treatment and patients given health education on the effects of each therapy


2016 ◽  
Vol 01 (04) ◽  
pp. 025-028
Author(s):  
Monica Irukulla ◽  
Rama Vaghmare ◽  
Deepa Joseph ◽  
Syed Ahmed ◽  
Jyothi Jonnadula ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroduction: Comorbidities are common among cancer patients and with an aging population are becoming more prevalent. These can potentially affect the stage at diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of people with cancer. Despite the intimate relationship between comorbidity and cancer, there is limited consensus on how to record, interpret or manage comorbidities in the context of cancer. Addressing the impact of comorbid conditions in cancer patients warrants improvement in the evidence base from which to make treatment decisions for those with comorbidities.Methods: In this prospective study, 64 patients with breast cancer, underwent QOL assessment using FACT –B questionnaire at three time points- pre-radiation and three and six months post radiation.Results: 29(46%) patients had comorbidities of which 23 (35%) had cardiovascular comorbidities and 6 had other comorbidities. The co-morbidities were negatively associated with multiple domains of quality of life, including physical functioning, general health, bodily pain. Patients with diabetes and hypertension had significantly lower scores in physical functioning in comparison to patients without diabetes and hypertension, but improved after treatment. In majority of patients the overall scores were less in patients with co-morbidities compared to patients without any co-morbidity.Conclusion: Comorbidities can significantly affect the quality of life in patients with comorbidities. Hence greater research into the QOL issues for better patient care and symptom management especially during the transitioning phase from active care to follow up will help clinicians improve the quality of care and interdisciplinary co-ordination.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
TanMay Leng ◽  
SeowGek Ching ◽  
DahlianaBinte Idris ◽  
TeoLee Wah ◽  
LohSoon Yue ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Selamawit Gebrehiwot Sibhat ◽  
Teferi Gedif Fenta ◽  
Beate Sander ◽  
Gebremedhin Beedemariam Gebretekle

Abstract Background Breast cancer is the second most prevalent malignancy in Ethiopia and severely affects patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We aimed to assess HRQoL, factors influencing HRQoL, and utilities among breast cancer patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital from December 2017 to February, 2018. A total of 404 breast cancer patients were interviewed using the validated Amharic version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer module (EORTC QLQ-C30), EORTC QLQ-BR23, and Euro Quality of Life Group’s 5-Domain Questionnaires 5 Levels (EQ-5D-5 L) instruments. Mean scores and mean differences of EORTC- QLQ-C30 and EORTC- QLQ-BR23 were calculated. One-way ANOVA test was employed to determine the significance of mean differences among dependent and independent variables while stepwise multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the global quality of life (GQOL). Coefficients and level specific utility values obtained from a hybrid regression model for the Ethiopian population were used to compute utility values of each health state. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results The mean age of patients was 43.94 ± 11.72 years. The mean score for GQoL and visual analog scale was 59.32 ± 22.94 and 69.94 ± 20.36, respectively while the mean utility score was 0.8 ± 0.25. Predictors of GQoL were stage of cancer (AOR = 7.94; 95% CI: 1.83–34.54), cognitive functioning (AOR = 2.38; 95% CI: 1.32–4.31), pain (AOR = 7.99; 95% CI: 4.62–13.83), financial difficulties (AOR = 2.60; 95% CI: 1.56–4.35), and future perspective (AOR = 2.08; 95% CI: 1.24–3.49). Conclusions The overall GQoL of breast cancer patients was moderate. Targeted approaches to improve patients’ HRQoL should consider stage of cancer, cognitive functioning, pain, financial status and worries about the patient’s future health. This study also provides estimates of EQ-5D utility scores that can be used in economic evaluations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 1063-1069
Author(s):  
Lilian Velasco ◽  
Lorena Gutiérrez Hermoso ◽  
Natasha Alcocer Castillejos ◽  
Paulina Quiroz Friedman ◽  
Cecilia Peñacoba ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 552
Author(s):  
V. Bjelic-Radisic ◽  
F. Cardoso ◽  
D. Cameron ◽  
E. Brain ◽  
K. Kuljanic ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diriba Alemayehu Gadisa ◽  
Esayas Tadesse Gebremariam ◽  
Getnet Yimer Ali

Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and it affects quality of life of those women. So far, the two most frequently used tools for assessing health related quality of life in breast cancer patients, EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 modules, were not validated in Ethiopia. Hence, the present study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the tools among Ethiopian breast cancer patients. Methods Institutional based longitudinal study was conducted from January 1 to May 1, 2017 GC at only nationwide oncology center, Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A total of 146 patients who visited the facility during that period, with no missing quality of life data, were selected for analysis. The psychometric properties of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 were evaluated in terms of reliability, convergent, divergent, construct and clinical validity using SPSS version 22. Results Satisfactory internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α coefficients > 0.7) was confirmed, except for cognitive function (α = 0.516) of EORTC QLQ-C30 and body image (α = 0.510) of EORTC QLQ-BR23. Multiple-trait scaling analysis demonstrated a good convergent and divergent validity. No scaling errors were observed. Most items in EORTC QLQ-BR23 possessed a weak or no correlation with its own dimension in EORTC QLQ-C30 (r < 0.4) except with some of symptom scales. A statistically significant chemotherapy induced quality of life scores changes (P ≤ 0.05) were observed in all dimensions of both instruments between baseline and the end of first cycle chemotherapy, except for body image (P = 0.985) and sexual enjoyment (P = 0.817) of EORTC QLQ-BR23, indicating clinical validity. Conclusion Amharic version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 modules are valid and adequately reliable tool and can be used for clinical and epidemiological cancer researches to study the health related quality of life (HRQoL) of women with breast cancer in Ethiopia.


Author(s):  
G. Marchioro ◽  
F. Barbato ◽  
G. Azzarello ◽  
O. Vinante

Background. The psychological discomfort associated to breast-cancer diagnosis and related treatments is universally recognized. However homogeneous modalities of intervention are lacking. The questionnaires are the most employed tools to analyze pre-morbidity personality traits and the quality of life of cancer patients, but they lack valid indicators of the patients' overall quality of life. On the other hand, counseling along with administered psychological tests allows listening and mutual relationship between patient and examiner. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Rorschach test, a multidimensional method of collecting data on personality functioning, as an instrument to assess mood disorders, object relation, self-image and quality of life in breast cancer patients. Methods. 135 consecutive women affected by operable breast cancer underwent psychological counseling and the Rorschach test within 2–4 weeks after surgery. Results of the test were interpreted according to the structural and experiential approaches. The discrimination between “compact” and “noncompact” tables makes it possible to study the changes of patients identity during the illness, while the Experienced Stimulation and Experience Actual indices, providing information about the patient's coping to therapeutic approach, were calculated according to the Exner system. The records from a sample of 60 healthy women, equally distributed in three age groups (< 50, 50–59, > 60) coming from the same Italian region (regional sample) and the results from 736 nonpatient Italian subjects (national sample) were used as controls. Results. Quantitative results were comparable within groups, except for parameters of cognitive characteristics regulating the approach to reality (G, G+, F+, Anat, Ban). No patient fulfilled the parameter configuration corresponding to depressive disorder, but alexithymia with a state reaction interpreted as an adjustment disorder with depressive mood was recorded. This trait was correlated with lower educational levels and increasing age.


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