Quality Of Life, Pain, And Disability Post-Surgical Management Of Breast Cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer is ranked as the 4th on the list of the deadliest cancers in 2017 worldwide. While in the Arab world, Breast cancer is the most common among women (1) (2).In Palestine, breast cancer is number one most common cancer with a percentage of 17.8% of all the reported cancer cases in Palestine, in 2016 and in 2015 it was as high as 33.7% (3).Surgery is the best management for breast cancer with expected complication pain and functional impairments (Cheville and Tchou, 2007).The aim of this study is to investigate the physical dysfunction and the quality of life for patients’ post-surgical intervention for breast cancer in Palestine. Methods: A Quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out using: a personal data collection sheet, the SF-36 (The Quality of life Questionnaire – Short form) and the Shoulder Disability questionnaire. 20 patients who underwent surgical-intervention for breast cancer were included in the study. Results: The quality of life for the patients ranged from poor to excellent but the worst scores were seen in the emotional wellbeing and energy domains (45, 44) respectively. The most common complications among the participants were the Frozen shoulder and lymphedema (30%, 25%) respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the type of surgery and the social functioning score of the patients (X2 = 9.284, P=0.026).) Shoulder disability was associated with the General Health domain of the SF-36 (R=.569, P=0.04), Spouse support (was associated with the physical score, Extent of religious belief was associated with better social functioning score (R=.420, P=0.048), Knowledge from medical staff was correlated with better physical score (R=.374, P=0.05). Conclusion: Palestinian Postsurgical breast cancer survivors suffers from pin, disability and quality of life challenges, rehabilitation services is missing, and medical staff is not investing enough time in patient’s empowerment after surgery.