Quality of life in women with advanced breast cancer under treatment in palliative care medicine ward

Introduction: Palliative care medicine is a broad concept involving management and care of physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of patients with advanced disease including cancer. In this way, breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women. Given that the main target of palliative care medicine is improving patient’s quality of, this study aimed to investigating quality of life in women with advanced breast cancer under treatment in palliative care medicine. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 110 women with advanced breast cancer who had referred to palliative care medicine ward in Firouzgar hospital were selected through purposeful sampling method and answered to McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire and Demographic information. Data were processed by (SPSS 19) to calculate T test and multivariate analysis. Results: Findings indicate that quality of life in advanced cancer patients is under average level (Mean=28/01) and there is significant relationship between patient’s general quality of life according to education level and economic status and tumor metastasis (P<0/05). However, other demographic variables have not significant relationship with quality of life in this population. Conclusion: As regards low quality of life in advanced cancer patients, high remedy cost, metastases’ probability, patients and family stress, it seemsexploration of causative and disturbing components, and providing specific mental health services in palliative care medicine to improving patient’s mental health and quality of life are vital.

کلیدواژه ها:

Palliative care medicine ، Advanced breast cancer ، Quality of life