Quality of life in patients with breast cancer at early postoperative period: Relationship to shoulder pain, handgrip strength, disability, and emotional status

Objective: To assess quality of life (QOL) of patients operated for breast cancer at early periods and to investigate its relationship to pain, handgrip strength (HS), disability, and emotional status. Material and Methods: Ninety-three female patients, operated unilaterally for breast cancer, were included. QOL by Short Form- 36 (SF-36), depression by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), shoulder pain intensity (rest-movement) by visual analog scale (VAS), handgrip strength (HS) by handheld dynamometer, and disability by Shoulder Pain-Disability Index (SPDI) and Shoulder Disability Questionnaire (SDQ) were evaluated. Results: The mean age of patients was 47.55±8.79 years, and mean time since surgery was 9.52±5.44 months. Shoulder pain during movementrest was 76.3%-41.9%, and depression of 32.2% was detected. The most affected QOL parameters were found to be general health and functional role. There were negative correlations between SF-36 subgroups scores and pain, SPDI, SDQ, and BDI scores (p<0.05). HS was positively correlated with physical function and physical role (p<0.05). Conclusion: Rehabilitation of patients who undergo breast cancer surgery should be focused on QOL and emotional status. The improvement of shoulder pain, disability, emotional status, and HS may enhance the QOL in these patients at early periods. © 2014 by Turkish Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.