Health-Related Quality of Life among Long Term and Short Term  Breast Cancer Survivors

Pei Lin Lua; Nor Syamimi Zakarai; Ali Nurnazahiah; Ab Hadi Imisairi; Mohamad Hussain; Aryati Ahmad; Suhaina Sulaiman; Mohd Razif Shahril

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Health-Related Quality of Life among Long Term and Short Term Breast Cancer Survivors

Author: Pei Lin Lua ¹ ; Nor Syamimi Zakarai ² ; Ali Nurnazahiah ² ; Ab Hadi Imisairi ³ ; Mohamad Hussain ⁴ ; Aryati Ahmad ² ; Suhaina Sulaiman ⁵ ; Mohd Razif Shahril ⁵
Author Information

1. Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Besut Campus, 22200 Besut, Terengganu, Malaysia
2. Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Gong Badak Campus, 21300 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
3. Department of Surgery, Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Jalan Hospital, 15200 Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
4. Department of Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Mahmud, 20400 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
5. Centre for Healthy Ageing and Wellness (H-CARE), Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Health-related quality of life, Quality of life, Breast cancer, Breast cancer survivors, Survivorship
From:Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2020;16(No.4):146-152
CountryMalaysia
Language:English
Abstract: Introduction: The number of breast cancer survivors in developing Asian countries is still lacking compared to Western countries. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of cancer patients is one of the significant predictors of survival. Hence, this study was conducted to determine HRQoL status among breast cancer survivors of different diagnosis duration in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected for 128 breast cancer survivors, aged 37 to 72 years who were recruited by using purposive sampling method at two main government hospitals in Kelantan (n=67) and Terengganu (n=61). The validated European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaires (EORTC QLQ–C30) and Breast Cancer Supplementary Measure (EORTC QLQ-BR23) which had been translated into the Malay language were used to measure HRQoL. Independent t-test was used to compare HRQoL status among short term (≤5 years duration since diagnosis) and long term (>5 years duration since diagnosis) breast cancer survivors. Results: Overall, our breast cancer survivors reported good HRQoL, with high scores for global health status, functional status and low symptoms scores. Long term breast cancer survivors had better social functioning compared to short term survivors (p=.038). Nevertheless, there was no significant difference found for other HRQoL status between short and long term breast cancer survivors. Conclusion: Breast cancer survivors in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia generally experienced good HRQoL. The relatively similar HRQoL status between long-term and short-term survivors indicated a constant HRQoL profile among survivors throughout their survivorship.
Full text:11.2020my0945.pdf