1.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
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2020;16(No.4):146-152
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.