The Study on the Correlation of Quality of Life between Breast Cancer Survivors and Their Adolescent Children

Background: Very few studies examine the relationships of quality of life between breast cancer survivors and their adolescent children. Given the increase of survivor time, the issue of daily life adjustments for both breast cancer survivors and their adolescent children during post-treatment survivorship needs to be explored.
Purpose/Objectives: This study aimed to explore anxiety, depression, coping with the event of breast cancer as the predictors for quality of life in the breast cancer survivors and their adolescent children.
Methods: The study adopts a cross-sectional design. The method of purposive sampling was used to recruit the subjects from outpatient department of surgery at breast centre at the general hospital. The criteria of breast cancer survivors are aged between 30 and 65 years old, complete the active cancer treatments including surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Their adolescent children aged between 13 and 18 years old, living with mother and knowing that mother had suffered from breast cancer were also invited to participate in this study. Total 79 breast cancer survivors and 79 adolescent children participated in this study. Breast cancer survivors and their adolescent children completed the questionnaires including Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Short Form 12-item Health Survey (SF-12). The Chinese Cancer Coherence Scale (CCCS) was completed by breast cancer survivors while Children Impact of Events Scale (CIES) was completed by the adolescent children.
Results: The quality of life between breast cancer survivors and their adolescent children are interrelated. Both the breast cancer survivors and their adolescent children did not appear to have serious anxiety and depression. As noted, the greater scores on BDI-II more likely occurred in adolescent daughters than sons. Few breast cancer survivors showed poor spiritual coping on Chinese Cancer Coherence Scale. Almost 20% of the adolescent children scored higher than 17 on Children Impact of Events Scale which indicated they were the high risk group for the post-traumatic stress disorder. Breast cancer survivors appeared to have a good physical quality of life, but they appeared to have relatively poor mental component of quality of life. The predictors of physical quality of life of breast cancer survivors were their age, anxiety, depression and mental component of quality of life. The predictors of mental quality of life of breast cancer survivors were anxiety, depression, physical component of quality of life, and the incoherent-embittered type of spiritual coping with cancer. The predictors of adolescents’ physical quality of life were their anxiety status and the time period between their mothers completing surgery and participating in this study. The predictors of adolescents’ mental quality of life were their anxiety status.
Conclusions: The results illustrate that anxiety and depression both are the main factors associated with breast cancer survivors'' physical and mental components of quality of life. Spiritual coping with cancer influences mental component of quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Adolescent children’s anxiety levels are the main factor associated with physical and mental quality of life, and their physical well-being is likely improved as the length of their mother completing cancer treatment is longer.