Social Support and Perception of Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors During the COVID 19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: To determine the relation between the level of social support and the perception of life quality in female breast cancer survivors. Methods: A cross-sectional, correlational study was implemented in the Family Medicine Center No.77 of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), which included women between the ages of 18 to 59 years, with a breast cancer background, in remission during the time of the study; they were administered the SF-36 questionnaire to measure the patient’s social support and the MOS questionnaire to measure social support. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee 2801 from IMSS Research. Results: A total of 69 breast cancer survivors with mean age 49.7 + 8.08 years were included.

The 95.6% perceived a maximum level of social support and the quality of life was good with a global average >50 points. No significant association was found between global index of social support and quality of life (p=0.24). Conclusions: It is important to have a comprehensive approach in breast cancer patients, including the evaluation of their support networks during their treatment or long-term follow-up in order to improve the perception of their quality of life.