Quality Of Life among Breast Cancer Patients during Adjuvant Chemotherapy

Abstract

Breast cancer is impacting 2.1 million women each year, and causes greatest number of cancer related deaths among women. In 2018, it is estimated that 627,000 women died from breast cancer that is approximately 15% of all cancer deaths among women Worldwide (World Health Organization, 2020). In Egypt, cancer breast represents 18.9% of total cancer cases (32.04% in women and 2.2% in men) with an age-adjusted rate of 49.6 per 100 000 population. Cancer incidence and mortality display strong geographic patterns worldwide and in Egypt (Gewaifel, Bahnasy, Kharboush & Elsharkawy, 2019). The psychological effects of breast cancer diagnosis and physical consequences associated with its treatment reduce the patients’ quality of life. The diagnosis and treatment; impaired sleep and activity patterns, physical symptoms and impaired cognitive function, dysfunctions in social and individual tasks threaten the quality of life. (Pitman, Suleman, Hyde & Hodgkiss, 2018)