Background Women with breast cancer are prone to have mental stress and be stimulated by the fear of progression (FOP), then giving rise to a lower quality of life (QOL). The study aimed to examine the relationships between FOP, social support and QOL, and further explore whether social support mediates the association between FOP and QOL among Chinese patients with breast cancer. Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 to May 2020 at Anshan Cancer Hospital in Liaoning, China. 244 female breast cancer patients completed questionnaires including the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for Breast (FACT-B), Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Fear of Progression (FOP). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the associations between FOP, social support and QOL. Asymptotic and resampling strategies were used to explore the mediating role of social support. Results The mean QOL score was 90.6 ± 17.0 among the patients with breast cancer. FOP was negatively correlated with QOL, while social support was positively related to QOL. Social support partly mediated the association between FOP and QOL, and the proportion of the mediating effect accounted for by social support was 25%. Conclusions Chinese breast cancer patients expressed low QOL. Social support could mediate the association between FOP and QOL. Medical staffs and cancer caregivers should alleviate patients’ FOP to improve their QOL by facilitating social support.

Purpose: Sleep disorders are prevalent and often neglected among breast cancer patients. This study aimed to identify the association among perceived stress, loneliness, resilience and sleep disorders, and to further explore whether resilience could be a moderator in the association between perceived stress, loneliness and sleep disorders among Chinese female breast cancer patients.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Anshan, China from October 2019 to October 2020. 492 valid questionnaires were collected. Patients were asked in response to the questionnaires including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Perceived Stress Scale-10, the Three-Item Loneliness Scale and Resilience Scale-14. The association among perceived stress, loneliness, resilience and perceived stress/loneliness × resilience interaction with sleep disorders were examined by hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The interaction was visualized by using simple slope analysis. Results: In our study, 36.58% of the female breast cancer patients reported sleep disorders. Perceived stress and loneliness were related to sleep disorders. Resilience could moderate the relationship between them and sleep disorders. When resilience was higher, perceived stress and loneliness had a weaker impact on sleep disorders.Conclusions: There was a high prevalence of sleep disorders and this study implied an adverse effect of perceived stress, loneliness on the sleep quality. However, resilience could moderate the association between perceived stress, loneliness and sleep disorders. More positive psychological interventions should be integrated into the prevention of sleep disorders among cancer patients.