THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYMPTOM SEVERITY AND SYMPTOM INTERFERENCE, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND TYPE OF TREATMENT IN PALESTINIAN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER
| dc.contributor.author | Yasin, Eman L. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-07-17T11:17:38Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-07-17T11:17:38Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-03-05 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers that affects women more than men and is considered a major cause of cancer death among women. Women with breast cancer experience bothersome symptoms related either to the disease itself or breast cancer treatments that interfere with patients’ life activities and affect their quality of life. Objectives: To provide a comprehensive explanation of the relationship between symptom severity and symptom interference, quality of life and type of treatment. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted through the MDASI questionnaire to assess symptom severity and symptom interference and the EQ-5D-5 L questionnaire to assess quality of life among women with a confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer at An-Najah National University Hospital and AL-Watani Hospital. The questionnaire was completed through face-to-face interviews and reviewing patients’ medical records. Results: A cohort of 229 participants was enrolled in the study. Predominantly, patients (34.1%, n=78) fell within the 50-59 years age bracket. Treatment modalities included chemotherapy alone (35.4%, n=81), hormonal therapy (48%, n=110), targeted therapy (9.6%, n=22), and various combination regimens. Specifically, 3.9% (n=9) received hormonal therapy along with targeted therapy, and 3.1% (n=7) underwent combined chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Fatigue emerged as the most prevalent and severe symptom, except for women undergoing chemotherapy plus targeted therapy who reported heightened complaints of sleep disturbances. Pearson correlations between the MDASI symptom severity total mean score and the MDASI symptom interference total mean score were significant for chemotherapy (r = 0.685, p < 0.05), hormonal therapy (r = 0.827, P < 0.05), targeted therapy (r = 0.922, P < 0.05) and hormonal plus targeted therapy (r = 0.699, P < 0.05), and not significant for the chemotherapy plus targeted therapy group (r=0.398, p=0.329). The most robust associations were identified with feelings of sadness (r=0.792, P< 0.05), fatigue (r=0.774, P< 0.05), and distress (r=0.743< P< 0.05). There were significant differences between study participants in relation to patient age, smoking status and treatment methods (p value<0.05), whereas other sociodemographic and clinical characteristics are not significantly associated with the total mean score of the symptom severity scale. Regarding the EQ-5D-5 L dimensions, the majority of patients reported no issues. The EQ-5D-5 L index score exhibited significant positive correlation with the EQ-VAS score (r = 0.568, P value < 0.05). Conversely, it demonstrated significant negative correlations with both the total mean score of symptom severity (r = -0.664, P value < 0.05) and the symptom interference total mean score (r = -0.651, P value < 0.05). Conclusions: The most common type of treatment associated with severe symptoms and affecting patients’ daily life activities is chemotherapy, which has no significant influence on patients’ quality of life. Fatigue was the most severe symptom associated with the breast cancer treatment method. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11888/20277 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | An-Najah National University | |
| dc.supervisor | Zyoud, Sa'ed | |
| dc.supervisor | Al-Jabi, Samah | |
| dc.title | THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYMPTOM SEVERITY AND SYMPTOM INTERFERENCE, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND TYPE OF TREATMENT IN PALESTINIAN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER | |
| dc.title.alternative | العلاقة بين شدة الأعراض وتداخلها وجودة الحياة ونوع العلاج لدى النساء الفلسطينيات المصابات بسرطان الثدي | |
| dc.type | Thesis |