Quality of Life of Women with Breast Cancer-Emotional and Social Aspects

Zivana Gavric^1,

¹Department of Social Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Banja Luka

Cite this paper:
Zivana Gavric. Quality of Life of Women with Breast Cancer-Emotional and Social Aspects. American Journal of Cancer Prevention. 2015; 3(1):13-18. doi: 10.12691/ajcp-3-1-4

Abstract

Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women in most countries and significantly affects the quality of life of ill women. The aim of this study was to examine how the breast cancer affects their quality of life, especially emotional and social components of health, compared to healthy women in our community. The pilot study included 100 women with breast cancer and 100 healthy women aged 20-75, using EORTC QLQ-C30 version 3.0 questionnaire. Mean score of the global health status in women with breast cancer (29.5 ± 17.9) compared to healthy women (65.8 ± 24.7) was significantly lower in all age groups. Almost 2/3 women with breast cancer were tense and 3/4 worried. More than 2/3 ill women were irritable and depressed with a significantly lower score on the scale of emotional and social functioning compared with healthy women. Over 2/3 ill women said that their health status or treatment had an impact on their family and social life with statistically significant difference compared to 1/10 women in the control group. Data on quality of life for women with breast cancer are essential for prevention of particular adverse effects especially in emotional and social functioning.

Keywords:
women quality of life breast cancer

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