Quality of life in relation to social support and body image in women with breast cancer after mastectomy

Abstract

For many years, cancer have been the 2nd leading cause of death, both men and women, in Croatia, and breast cancer is among first three cause of death from cancer in women. Disease, especially cancer, has negative and multidimensional impact on quality of life. The aim of this research was to examine the relation between perceived social support and body image with quality of life in women with breast cancer who undergone surgical treatment mastectomy. Results showed that quality of life after the mastectomy in women with breast cancer was 53.58 %SM which was below the normative range, and indicating decreased QoL. Social support proves to be strongest protective factor for the quality of life in women with breast cancer who undergone mastectomy, and longer time from diagnosis was also associated with higher quality of life. Neither women’s age, level of body image disturbance nor type of additional treatment were shown to be significant predictors of the overall QoL Assessment of quality of life and perceived social support could become a valuable indicator of the success of multidisciplinary treatment and indicate areas where the woman needs additional help and support in order to achieve better quality of life.