The quality of life of African American women with breast cancer

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to describe the quality of life of African American women with breast cancer and test a model of factors that may affect their quality of life. A stress-coping framework that included person (demographics, current concerns, and optimism), social resources (family functioning), and illness-related factors (symptom distress, medical characteristics), as well as appraisal of illness and quality of life, was used to guide this exploratory, cross-sectional study. Participants included 98 African American women who were approximately 4 years postdiagnosis. The women reported a fairly high quality of life, were generally optimistic, and had effective family functioning. Although symptom distress was generally low, a sizable number of women reported problems with energy loss, sleep disturbances, and pain. The model explained 75% of the variance in quality of life, with appraisal, family functioning, symptom distress , and recurrence status each explaining a significant amount of the variance. Current concerns had an indirect effect on quality of life that was mediated by appraisal. These findings underscore the importance of helping women foster a positive appraisal of their illness, manage current concerns, maintain family functioning, and reduce symptom distress, because each of these factors indirectly or directly affects their quality of life.

Quality of Life in Women With Breast Cancer in Turkey

“…Also, women in this study had relatively better scores than did 31 women with breast cancer in another study in Turkey (Kizilci, 1999). The generally high overall QoL scores of this sample of Turkish women are consistent with findings of previous studies (Ashing‐Giwa, Ganz, Petersen, 1999; Ganz, Rowland, Desmond, Meyerowitz, Wyatt, 1998; Kizilci 1999; Northouse et al, 1999). Baker and colleagues (2003) detected a pattern of life quality scores among cancer and noncancer patients.…”

Correlates of mood disturbance in women with breast cancer: patterns over time

“…Specifically, those American women with higher levels of perceived stress had significantly higher levels of mood disturbance than those women with lower levels of perceived stress. Similar findings were noted by Northouse et al (1999), who reported that American breast cancer survivors with higher stress had a lower quality of life.…”

Experiences with Weight Change in African-American Breast Cancer Survivors

“…First, our findings demonstrate that regardless of whether weight is gained or lost, these changes may be a constant reminder of experiences with breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Although prior work has shown that quality of life may be high in African‐American breast cancer survivors (24) and that black and white breast cancer survivors may not differ in terms of body image perceptions (25), our findings suggest that weight change may be an important component of breast cancer survivorship among African‐American women that should be addressed as part of follow‐up care. Increasingly, cancer survivorship is being recognized as an important teachable moment during which health care providers should encourage patients to engage in healthy lifestyles (26,27).…”