Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 18, Issue 1, Pages 27-34Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.11.002
Keywords
Breast cancer; Quality of life; Optimism; Social support; Latin America; Descriptive survey study
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Funding
- German Research Foundation (DFG)
- Universitat Leipzig
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Background/Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer patients from Colombia and to explore the relationship between QoL, habitual optimism, and social support. Method: A sample of 95 breast cancer patients treated in a hospital in Bogota were administered the QoL instrument EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Life Orientation Test LOT-R. Additionally, they were asked to indicate from whom (physicians, friends, nurses, etc.) they wished and received social support. Reference data for the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the LOT-R were taken from a representative sample of the general Colombian population. Results: The breast cancer patients showed detriments to their QoL on most functioning scales and symptom scales of the EORTC QLQ-C30, while their general assessments of health and QoL were not worse than those of the controls. Optimism was positively correlated with QoL. Most patients wanted and received social support from their physicians and friends/family. Conclusions: The results suggest that optimism helps patients better cope with disease. A general assessment of global QoL cannot replace the more specific assessments of the functioning domains and symptoms. (c) 2017 Asociacion Espanola de Psicologia Conductual. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.
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