IMPACT OF FATIGUE ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS RECEIVING ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY

S. Amarsheda¹, A. Bhise², Y. Shukla²

Background: Cancer treatment related fatigue is a common and distressing symptom among cancer patients during and after treatment. With a greater longevity promote by advances in therapeutics & early diagnosis, interest has shifted to the assessment of quality of life. The concept of functional capacity has been used extensively in disability and rehabilitation research as an indicator of an individual’s ability to engage in physical activity.

Purpose: In an effort to understand better the nature of cancer-related fatigue in patients receiving chemotherapy, an attempt has been made to find the impact of fatigue on quality of life and functional capacity in post-operative breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant therapy.

Methods: The trial received ethical approval from Institutional ethical committee and written informed consent from all participants were taken. Total 30 participants were recruited from the Cancer Hospital, Ahmedabad, India. The patients who were receiving third cycle of chemotherapy were recruited in the study. Facit fatigue questionnaire, FACT B questionnaire and 6 minute walk test (6MWT) were used for the assessment purpose of fatigue, quality of life and functional capacity, respectively.

Results: Spearman’s rank-order correlation was used to explore association between the fatigue and quality of life total/subscale score as well as between fatigue and 6 minute walk test. The strength of the correlations (r) was categorized as low (0–.25), moderate (>.25–.50), strong (>.50–.75) and very strong (>.75). The Spearman’s correlation confirmed that the fatigue is strongly associated with subscale score of Fact B and very strongly associated with total score of fact B , Fact G and TOI. There was moderate association between the fatigue and functional capacity measured by 6 minute walk test. There were above average values in total and subscale scores of quality of life but among all the subscale scores of quality of life, breast cancer subscale score was having lower value compared to others. Social well being score was higher among all other subscale scores.

Conclusion(s): There is impact of fatigue on various health aspects of quality of life and functional capacity in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Fatigue is having strong effect on quality of life and moderate effect on functional capacity in these patients. Specific breast cancer related health is having more effect among other quality of life aspects and social well being is least affected.

Implications: In breast cancer patients, fatigue should be assessed systematically and appropriate measures should be taken to manage the patients’ fatigue level. Proper rehabilitation should be done to provide optimum level of quality of life and improvement of functional capacity in these patients.

Funding, acknowledgements: The work done was Unfunded.

Keywords: Breast cancer, Fatigue, Quality of life

Topic: Oncology, HIV & palliative care

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: Government Physiotherapy College and Spine Institute, Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Committee: The Institutional Ethics Committee, B.J. Medical College and Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad

Ethics number: GSIIESC/05/18