| Abstract [eng] |
Breast cancer has become the most common oncological disease among women, it is associated with lifestyle and environmental changes. Early diagnosis and effective new treatment for breast cancer provide a possibility to live longer, but it is important not only to save lives of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, but also to ensure the quality of their lives: well-being, optimal mental and social opportunities. The aim of the research: to evaluate quality of life after surgical treatment of women with breast cancer. Objectives: to evaluate and compare aspects of quality of life of women who had different breast cancer surgery (breast removed or unremoved after surgery); to establish quality of life depending on age, breast cancer stage, treatment method, marital status, education, emotional condition and stress to determine anxiety, depression and stress after surgical treatment in women with breast cancer. Material and methods: A survey of 126 women with breast cancer receiving treatment in the Department of the High-energy radiation therapy of the Institute of Oncology, Vilnius University. A set of questionnaires was used: EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23 for assessment of quality of life and Hospital and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Distress Thermometer (DT) for assessment of emotional condition. Results: Analysis showed that women who had mastectomy consider the overall quality of life to be better than women with breast conserving treatment (BCT): the mastectomy group average is 57,22 points, while BCT group – 53,92 (p=0,00). It was established that after mastectomy women felt better with regard to social, emotional and role functioning, except for physical functioning. In the mastectomy group anxiety and depression were found to be 19,8% and 22,2% respectively and in BCT group – 21,4% and 13,6%. The difference wasn’t statistically significant. 84% of women after BCT and 73,3% after mastectomy felt a slight distress. The remaining felt medium or severe distress. Distress is mainly due to problems related with emotional and physical complaints. Comparisons showed moderate correlation (r=0,345; p=0,00) between the DT scales and HADS depression subscale and low correlation (r=0,170; p=0,06) between the DT and HADS anxiety subscale. Conclusions: Quality of life of women with breast cancer receiving radiotherapy after surgical treatment is influenced by the extent of operation, patient‘s age, health and emotional condition, stress and received chemotherapy. The research did not establish the influence of marital status, education and disease stage on quality of life. Women with breast cancer in the postoperative period need psychosocial support, taking into account their vulnerability: anxiety, depression and distress. |
