Breast cancer survivors: Psychosocial concerns and quality of life

Ganz, Patricia A.; Coscarelli, Anne; Fred, C.; Kahn, Barbara; Polinsky, Margaret L.; Petersen, Laura

doi:10.1007/bf01806673

Cited by 460 publications

(342 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Corroborating the results of other studies, (Lasry et al, 1987;Ganz et al, 1995Ganz et al, , 1996Ganz et al, , 1998bLindley et al, 1998;Meyerowitz et al, 1999), both marital status and partner's difficulty understanding were associated with sexual problems in this study. In addition, sexual problems were associated with vaginal dryness, a side effect of breast cancer treatment (the positive association between vaginal dryness and being sexually active is very likely because women tended to become aware of vaginal dryness by engaging in sexual activity).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

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Body image and sexual problems in young women with breast cancer

et al. 2005

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SUMMARYPurpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of body image and sexual problems in the first months after treatment among women diagnosed with breast cancer at age 50 or younger.Background: Breast cancer treatment may have severe effects on the bodies of younger women. Surgical treatment may be disfiguring, chemotherapy may cause abrupt menopause, and hormone replacement is not recommended.Methods: A multi-ethnic population-based sample of 549 women aged 22-50 who were married or in a stable unmarried relationship were interviewed within seven months of diagnosis with in situ, local, or regional breast cancer.Results: Body image and sexual problems were experienced by a substantial proportion of women in the early months after diagnosis. Half of the 546 women experienced two or more body image problems some of the time (33%), or at least one problem much of the time (17%). Among sexually active women, greater body image problems were associated with mastectomy and possible reconstruction, hair loss from chemotherapy, concern with weight gain or loss, poorer mental health, lower self-esteem, and partner's difficulty understanding one's feelings. Among the 360 sexually active women, half (52%) reported having a little problem in two or more areas of sexual functioning (24%), or a definite or serious problem in at least one area (28%). Greater sexual problems were associated with vaginal dryness, poorer mental health, being married, partner's difficulty understanding one's feelings, and more body image problems, and there were significant ethnic differences in reported severity.Conclusions: Difficulties related to sexuality and sexual functioning were common and occurred soon after surgical and adjuvant treatment. Addressing these problems is essential to improve the quality of life of young women with breast cancer.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…In an earlier analysis of Phase 1 data, Bloom et al (1998) found that women interviewed soon after diagnosis had a better body image than those interviewed at 6-7 months postdiagnosis. This result is consistent for EuroAmerican women and Asian women (Ganz et al, 1996;Ashing-Giwa et al, 2004).…”

Section: Body Image Sexuality and Sexual Problemssupporting

confidence: 81%

Body image and sexual problems in young women with breast cancer

et al. 2005

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“…Ganz and colleagues [20][21][22] have shown that quality-of-life and functional outcome are decreased during and after treatment, but our data suggest a decrement in these parameters before treatment. Significant correlations were observed between reports of poor sleep and the FACT-B instrument, which measures the impact of acknowledging a cancer diagnosis on daily functioning.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 72%

Fatigue, sleep, and circadian rhythms prior to chemotherapy for breast cancer

Ancoli‐Israel

Liu

Marler

et al. 2005

Support Care Cancer

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Goals-Previous investigations have shown that women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer experience both disturbed sleep and fatigue. However, most of the previous research examined women either during or after chemotherapy. This study examined sleep, fatigue, and circadian rhythms in women with breast cancer before the start of chemotherapy.Patients and methods-Eighty five women with Stages I-IIIA breast cancer who were scheduled to begin adjuvant or neo-adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy participated. Each had sleep/ wake activity recorded with actigraphy for 72 consecutive hours and filled out questionnaires on sleep, fatigue, depression, and functional outcome.Main results-On average, the women slept for about 6 h a night and napped for over an hour during the day. Sleep was reported to be disturbed and fatigue levels were high. Circadian rhythms were robust, but women who were more phase-delayed reported more daily dysfunction (p<0.01). Conclusions-The data from the current study suggest that the women with breast cancer likely experience both disturbed sleep and fatigue before the beginning of chemotherapy. Although their circadian rhythms are robust, breast cancer patients with more delayed rhythms experience more daily dysfunction secondary to fatigue. These data suggest that strategies to improve disturbed sleep and to phase-advance circadian rhythms prior to initiation of chemotherapy may be beneficial in improving daily function in breast cancer patients.

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“…Surviving cancer might also coincide with attitudinal changes. Cancer patients report that the cancer experience changed them in many ways, that it enriched them, deepened the compassion that they felt for others and energized them to look for changes in their environment and the future [33]. These effects of cancer can not be ignored when talking about quality of life issues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of quality of life between vulvar cancer patients after sentinel lymph node procedure only and inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy

Oonk

Bock

et al. 2009

Gynecologic Oncology

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A comparison of quality of life between vulvar cancer patients after sentinel lymph node procedure only and inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy Oonk, M. H. M.; van Os, M. A.; de Bock, G. H.; de Hullu, J. A.; Ansink, A. C.; van der Zee, A. G. J. Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Objectives. The SLN-procedure has been introduced in vulvar cancer treatment to reduce morbidity and thereby improve quality of life. Aim of this study was to compare quality of life in vulvar cancer patients who were treated with a SLN-procedure only to those who underwent inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy. Moreover, it was evaluated what patients would advise relatives on the application of the SLN-procedure in light of possible false negative results.Methods. Patients who participated in the GROningen INternational Study on Sentinel nodes in Vulvar cancer (GROINSS-V) were invited to fill out three questionnaires: the EORTC QLQ-C30, a vulvar specific questionnaire and a questionnaire about the opinion of patients on new treatment options. Patients who only underwent SLN-procedure were compared to those who subsequently underwent inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy because of a positive SLN.Results. With a response rate of 85%, 35 patients after the SLN-procedure and 27 patients after inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy filled out the questionnaires. No difference in overall quality of life was observed between the two groups. The major difference was the increase in complaints of lymphedema of the legs after inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy. The majority of patients would advise the SLN-procedure to relatives. Patients after inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy were more reserved concerning the acceptable false negative rate of a new diagnostic procedure.Conclusions. Patients who underwent the SLN-procedure report less treatment related morbidity compared to those who underwent inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy. However, this did not influence overall quality of life. Furthermore, patients who underwent inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy are more reserved in advising the SLN-procedure to relatives.

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Breast cancer survivors: Psychosocial concerns and quality of life

Cited by 460 publications

References 24 publications

Body image and sexual problems in young women with breast cancer

Body image and sexual problems in young women with breast cancer

Fatigue, sleep, and circadian rhythms prior to chemotherapy for breast cancer

A comparison of quality of life between vulvar cancer patients after sentinel lymph node procedure only and inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy

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