Quality of life of breast cancer patients in the course of adjuvant radiotherapy

Abstract

Although the interpretation of these data is difficult because only a few data are available to compare our results, it could be demonstrated that emotional support and the ability to maintain a daily routine in additionally irradiated breast cancer patients is important to optimise hrqol. If hrqol decreases during the course of radiotherapy, the function scales of the EORTC-QOL-C30 seem to be insensitive to reflect this decrease.

The impact of radiotherapy on quality of life for cancer patients: a longitudinal study

“…The intervals of measurement in these investigations must be long enough for changes to occur, but also short enough to be able to ascribe changes to specific causes. The longer the duration between two measurements, the larger are the effects of uncontrollable influencing factors [1].…”

“…Budischewski et al [1] used the EORTC QLQ-C30 to study QOL in 61 breast cancer patients at the beginning of RT and 6 weeks after RT was completed. These authors achieved a response rate of 68 % at their post-RT time evaluation, whereas our response rates for the same questionnaire at 1 and 6 months post-RT were 96 and 86 %, respectively.…”

“…The traditional endpoints in cancer clinical trials typically include tumor control rate, overall survival, or disease-free survival; however, it is also important to consider quality of life (QOL) for this patient group. Over the past 30 years, cancer researchers have used various methods to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic interventions based on their impacts on health-related QOL [1]. These efforts have led to a relatively recent shift in the aim of cancer treatments from strictly prolonging life to also maintaining QOL for as long as possible.…”

Engaging patients with radiation related skin discomfort in self-care

“…Literature indicates that most women generally experience negative psychological, physical, or emotional side effects, that impact their personal health and well-being after BC treatment (Budischewski, 2008;Smith, Singh-Carlson, Downie, Payeur, & Wai, 2011;Tanay, 2013). Discomfort experienced by women during breast radiation treatment affects their quality of life and hinders their ability to perform activities of daily living.…”

Encourager les autosoins chez les patientes souffrant de réactions cutanées dues à la radiothérapie

“…En effet, on estime que 25 700 femmes ont reçu ce diagnostic en 2016 (Société canadienne du cancer, 2016). La recherche montre que, après les traitements contre ce cancer, la plupart des femmes présentent des effets secondaires psychologiques, physiques ou émotionnels négatifs qui éprouvent leur santé et leur bien-être (Budischewski, 2008;Smith, Singh-Carlson, Downie, Payeur et Wai, 2011;Tanay, 2013). L'inconfort qu'elles ressentent pendant la radiothérapie affecte leur qualité de vie et leurs activités quotidiennes.…”