Measuring the Quality of Life in Breast Cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer killed over 15500 women in the United Kingdom in 1992. Coping with the knowledge that one has a life-threatening disease and dealing with the side-effects of treatment exact a considerable emotional and physical toll. Although effective treatment means a reasonably good 10-year survival rate, the psychological, sexual and physical dysfunction caused by the diagnosis and treatments can produce a deleterious impact on the quality of women’s lives. Unlike some of the other common cancers, there are a variety of possible treatments for breast cancer. These may have similar outcomes in terms of response and survival but may have profoundly different effects on emotional and general physical well-being. Thus, monitoring the quality of life in breast cancer is extremely important and can be useful in the following situations:

• 1) to assists both patient and doctor in decision-making about the most appropriate treatment option;

• 2) in clinical trials to help evaluate outcome of different treatments;

• 3) to identify women who might benefit from psychosocial iriterventions such as counselling or relaxation therapy;

• 4) to help inform economic evaluations and health-care policy decisions.