Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Social support during re-entry period and long-term quality of life in breast cancer survivors: a 10-year longitudinal cohort study

  • Published:
Quality of Life Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This study evaluated the association between social support during the re-entry period and long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in breast cancer survivors using a longitudinal cohort study.

Methods

This is a prospective cohort study with 275 breast cancer survivors who reported HRQoL at 5 and 10 years after diagnosis. Social support for the re-entry period was measured 3 years after diagnosis using the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS). HRQoL was evaluated using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and Breast Cancer-Specific Module (BR-23). Multivariable linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate HRQoL at 5 and 10 years after diagnosis by level of social support during the re-entry period.

Results

The mean (SD) of social support during re-entry period was 68.5. The low social support (LSS, score < 55) group during the re-entry period had a significantly lower HRQoL (mean difference =  − 12.93) compared to moderate or high social support (MHSS, score ≥ 55) group. 5 and 10 years after diagnosis, the LSS group continued to demonstrate lower HRQoL (5 years: − 7.17; 10 years: − 7.85) compared to the MHSS group. The LSS group were more likely to have lower role and social function scores, and higher fatigue, pain, and financial problems compared to the MHSS group at 10 years after diagnosis.

Conclusions

Breast cancer survivors who received lower social support during the re-entry period were more likely to experience poorer HRQoL in the long term than those who did not.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author [J Cho]. The data are not publicly available due to them containing information that could compromise research participant consent.

References

  1. Stanton, A. L. (2012). What happens now? Psychosocial care for cancer survivors after medical treatment completion. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 30(11), 1215–1220.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Stanton, A. L., Ganz, P. A., Rowland, J. H., Meyerowitz, B. E., Krupnick, J. L., & Sears, S. R. (2005). Promoting adjustment after treatment for cancer. Cancer, 104(11 Suppl), 2608–2613.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Keesing, S., Rosenwax, L., & McNamara, B. (2018). The implications of women’s activity limitations and role disruptions during breast cancer survivorship. Women’s Health, 14, 1745505718756381.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Mackenzie, C. R. (2014). “It is hard for mums to put themselves first”: How mothers diagnosed with breast cancer manage the sociological boundaries between paid work, family and caring for the self. Social Science and Medicine, 117, 96–106.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Simpson, J. S. A., Carlson, L. E., Beck, C. A., & Patten, S. (2002). Effects of a brief intervention on social support and psychiatric morbidity in breast cancer patients. Psycho-Oncology, 11(4), 282–294.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Mirrielees, J. A., Breckheimer, K. R., White, T. A., Denure, D. A., Schroeder, M. M., Gaines, M. E., et al. (2017). Breast cancer survivor advocacy at a university hospital: Development of a peer support program with evaluation by patients, advocates, and clinicians. Journal of Cancer Education, 32(1), 97–104.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Helgeson, V. S. (2003). Social support and quality of life. Quality of Life Research, 12(Suppl 1), 25–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Zhang, H., Zhao, Q., Cao, P., & Ren, G. (2017). Resilience and quality of life: exploring the mediator role of social support in patients with breast cancer. Medical Science Monitor, 23, 5969–5979.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Friedman, L. C., Kalidas, M., Elledge, R., Chang, J., Romero, C., Husain, I., et al. (2006). Optimism, social support and psychosocial functioning among women with breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 15(7), 595–603.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Eom, C. S., Shin, D. W., Kim, S. Y., Yang, H. K., Jo, H. S., Kweon, S. S., et al. (2013). Impact of perceived social support on the mental health and health-related quality of life in cancer patients: Results from a nationwide, multicenter survey in South Korea. Psycho-Oncology, 22(6), 1283–1290.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Kang, D., Kim, I. R., Choi, E. K., Yoon, J. H., Lee, S. K., Lee, J. E., et al. (2017). Who are happy survivors? Physical, psychosocial, and spiritual factors associated with happiness of breast cancer survivors during the transition from cancer patient to survivor. Psycho-Oncology, 26(11), 1922–1928.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Sherbourne, C. D., & Stewart, A. L. (1991). The MOS social support survey. Social Science and Medicine, 32(6), 705–714.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Lim, M. K., Kim, M. H., Shin, Y. J., Yoo, W. S., & Yang, B. M. (2003). Social support and self-rated health status in a low income neighborhood of Seoul, Korea. Korean Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(1), 54–62.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Yun, Y. H., Bae, S. H., Kang, I. O., Shin, K. H., Lee, R., Kwon, S. I., et al. (2004). Cross-cultural application of the Korean version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Breast-Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-BR23). Supportive Care in Cancer, 12(6), 441–445.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. PM, F., NK, A., & K, B. (2001). The EORTC QLQ-C30 scoring manual. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer.

  16. Sherbourne, C. D., Meredith, L. S., Rogers, W., & Ware, J. E., Jr. (1992). Social support and stressful life events: Age differences in their effects on health-related quality of life among the chronically ill. Quality of Life Research, 1(4), 235–246.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Lee, M. K., Park, S., Lee, E. S., Ro, J., Kang, H. S., Shin, K. H., et al. (2011). Social support and depressive mood 1 year after diagnosis of breast cancer compared with the general female population: A prospective cohort study. Supportive Care in Cancer, 19(9), 1379–1392.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Haviland, J., Sodergren, S., Calman, L., Corner, J., Din, A., Fenlon, D., et al. (2017). Social support following diagnosis and treatment for colorectal cancer and associations with health-related quality of life: Results from the UK ColoREctal Wellbeing (CREW) cohort study. Psycho-Oncology, 26(12), 2276–2284.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Rosedale, M. (2009). Survivor loneliness of women following breast cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 36(2), 175–183.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Smith, T. G., Troeschel, A. N., Castro, K. M., Arora, N. K., Stein, K., Lipscomb, J., et al. (2019). Perceptions of patients with breast and colon cancer of the management of cancer-related pain, fatigue, and emotional distress in community oncology. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 37(19), 1666–1676.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Pierce, G. R., Sarason, I. G., & Sarason, B. R. (1996). Coping and social support. In Handbook of coping: Theory, research, applications. Oxford, England: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 434-451.

  22. Boehmer, U., Glickman, M., Winter, M., & Clark, M. A. (2013). Breast cancer survivors of different sexual orientations: Which factors explain survivors’ quality of life and adjustment? Annals of Oncology, 24(6), 1622–1630.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Schroevers, M. J., Helgeson, V. S., Sanderman, R., & Ranchor, A. V. (2010). Type of social support matters for prediction of posttraumatic growth among cancer survivors. Psycho-Oncology, 19(1), 46–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). TARGET ARTICLE: “posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence.” Psychological inquiry, 15(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Fenn, K. M., Evans, S. B., McCorkle, R., DiGiovanna, M. P., Pusztai, L., Sanft, T., et al. (2014). Impact of financial burden of cancer on survivors’ quality of life. Journal of Oncology Practice/American Society of Clinical Oncology, 10(5), 332–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Johnsson, A., Fornander, T., Rutqvist, L. E., & Olsson, M. (2010). Factors influencing return to work: A narrative study of women treated for breast cancer. Eur J Cancer Care (Engl), 19(3), 317–323.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by a grant of the MD-Phd/Medical Scientist Training Program through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea, Amorepacific Corporation and the Korea Breast Cancer Foundation.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Hyeonjin Cho and Danbee Kang have equally contributed to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Digital Health, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea

    Hyeonjin Cho, Dong Wook Shin & Juhee Cho

  2. Department of Family Medicine/Supportive Cancer Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Hyeonjin Cho & Dong Wook Shin

  3. Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, 115 Irwon-ro, Gangnam, Seoul, 06335, South Korea

    Danbee Kang, Dong Wook Shin, Nayeon Kim & Juhee Cho

  4. Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea

    Danbee Kang & Juhee Cho

  5. Cancer Education Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Danbee Kang, Nayeon Kim & Juhee Cho

  6. Department of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Se Kyung Lee, Jeong Eon Lee & Seok Jin Nam

Authors
  1. Hyeonjin Cho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Danbee Kang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dong Wook Shin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nayeon Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Se Kyung Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jeong Eon Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Seok Jin Nam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Juhee Cho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

HC: Conceptualization, Writing- Original draft preparation. DK: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data analysis, Writing- Original draft preparation. DS: Writing- Reviewing and Editing. JC: Supervision, Writing- Reviewing and Editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juhee Cho.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The study protocol was approved by our institutional review board (SMC IRB: 2012–08-031).

Consent to participate

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Consent for publication

N/A.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 52 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cho, H., Kang, D., Shin, D.W. et al. Social support during re-entry period and long-term quality of life in breast cancer survivors: a 10-year longitudinal cohort study. Qual Life Res 33, 1287–1295 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-024-03599-y

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-024-03599-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation