Psychosocial well-being and quality of life in women with breast cancer in foothills of North India.

INTRODUCTION

Breast cancer remains a leading cause of unintended death among Indian women. Cancer treatment-induced pain, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, body image, and sexual problems could affect the patient psychosocial well-being and quality of life (QOL). The study aims to determine the QOL and psychosocial well-being among women with breast cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional survey completed by 244 women with breast cancer at a tertiary level teaching hospital. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QOL Questionnaire C30, the Breast Module (QLQ-BR23), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is used to measure the QOL, and psychological well-being, respectively. Appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics are applied to compute the results.

RESULTS

The total number of women with breast cancer interviewed was 244, with a mean age of 45.06 (standard deviation ± 11.17) years. The mean global health score was 70.97 ± 15.63. As per the QLQ-C30 scale, "physical functioning" scored the highest (70.54 ± 22.00), and "role functioning" reported the lowest (49.45 ± 36.15) mean score. Further, on the QLQ-C30 symptoms scale, "appetite loss" (45.09 ± 35.09) was the worst reported symptom, followed by "nausea and vomiting" (34.97 ± 38.39). On the BR-23 scale, body image said (68.42 ± 22.28) higher score than other domains and experience of arm-related problems (43.80 ± 26.06) were more frequently reported symptom in women. As per the HADS scale, 24.6% and 36.1% of women were in moderate anxiety and depression, respectively. The mean HADS score was 14.39 ± 5.82. Findings on predictors for the individual patient remained the same as that earlier published literature.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Women with breast cancer have an overall good QOL and poor psychosocial well-being. However, using a holistic approach, including identifying psychological problems and their time management, signifies the need for the studied population.