Social Support and Hope among Egyptian Women with Breast Cancer after Mastectomy

Abstract

Introduction:Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Egyptian women. We report the unique assessment of hope and social support outcomes of women with breast cancer after mastectomy in Egyptian community.Patients and methods:Between July 2009 and June 2010, three hundred and one women with newly diagnosed breast cancer joined this study. Socio-demographic data including patient’s age, level of education, occupation, social status, and residence were collected by means of structured interviews based on special questionnaires. These questionnaires were designed to measure hope and social support.Results:Age ranged from 21 to 88 years (median = 45.8 years and SD ± 13.3). A low degree of hope was reported in 103 patients (34.2%), a moderate degree in 109 patients (36.2%), and a high degree in 89 patients (29.6%). A low degree of social support was reported in 119 patients (39.5%), a moderate degree in 101 patients (33.6%), and a high degree in 81 patients (26.9%).Conclusions:Social support is related to many psychological factors, which can be quantitatively analyzed and it can predict hope. However, there were no significant differences between the socio-demographic variables (age, educational levels, residence and martial status) and social support, hope, and their sub-components among Egyptian women with breast cancer.

Social Support and Hopelessness in Patients with Breast Cancer

“…Denewer et al (2011), in their study conducted after mastectomy, and Fadıloğlu et al (2006), in their study conducted with women having breast cancer, found no statistically significant difference between marital status and patients' hope levels. On the other hand, the related literature indicates that women with breast cancer receive the social support they need in coping with the emotional effects of the illness from their husbands, but single women have more difficulties in terms of receiving this kind of support.…”

The Nature of Hope among Iranian Cancer Patients

“…Results of previous studies regarding the relationship of hope with age were inconsistent. While some studies approved the results of present study (Rustoen and Wiklund, 2000;Duggleby et al, 2013), others were failed to demonstrate such a relationship (Pourghaznein et al, 2003;Felder, 2004;Vellone et al, 2006;Juvakka and Kylma., 2009;Zhang et al, 2010;Denewer et al, 2011). We believed that the relation between hope and age is related to educational level.…”

Hope and Advanced Breast Cancer: Engaging with the Parish Nursing Community to Explore Hope in Women with Advanced Breast Cancer in Nigeria

“…Goal-specific hope is influenced by some factors such as: "beliefs, personality disposition, previous experience with stress, meaning of what is currently at stake, what else is going on in the person's life, interactions with significant others, and the quality of patient-caregiver communications during the period" (p. 6). Hope is affected by factors such as family, friends (social support) and religious beliefs (Denewer, Farouk, Mostafa, & Elshamy, 2011). From the perspectives of Chinese patients living with advanced cancer, hope consists of five components: "living a normal life, social support, actively letting go of control, reconciliation between life and death, and well-being of significant others" (Mok et al, 2010, p. 3).…”