Treatment-Related Quality of Life in Nepalese Women with Breast Cancer

Abstract

<br /> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">Objective: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">To identify the level of quality of life and its predictors in Nepalese women with breast cancer while receiving chemotherapy. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Methods: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This cross-sectional study with a predictive design was conducted for a conveniently selected sample of 85 Nepalese women with primary breast cancer receiving chemotherapy at outpatient clinics of three cancer hospitals of Kathmandu, Nepal. Data were collected during December 2016 and February 2017 using demographic sheets, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire and the </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">modified Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">data analysis. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Results: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The mean age of the sample was 50.2 years (SD = 11.50). Study participants reported moderate to poor quality of life (M = 33.5, SD = 23.5). Multiple regression analysis showed that age, years of education, stage, </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">past breast surgery, overall symptom severity, and social support significantly explained 56.8% of the variance in </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">quality of life (R</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;">2 </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">= .568, F (8,76) = 12.469, p = .000). However, overall symptom severity (β = -.477, p= .000) and social support (β = .183, p = .050) were the most important predictors. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Conclusions: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">As Nepalese women reported decreased quality of life, nurses should provide preventive and supportive services to improve the quality of life of their patients during chemotherapy. </span></span>