Keywords

Breast Cancer; Quality of Life; Hispanic; Cancer survivors; Women; Central Florida

Abstract

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among American women. Research has examined the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among breast cancer survivors of various races/ethnicities, reporting that Hispanic women have lower levels of HRQOL compared to non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics are not a homogenous population, and subpopulations may have different lifestyles, socioeconomic status, and cultural/personal/social ideals that could affect their HRQOL after treatment of breast cancer. The objective of this study was to examine the differences in HRQOL by Hispanic origin among breast cancer survivors in Central Florida.

Patient data was obtained from the Florida Cancer Data System. Eligible patients were sent an invitation letter along with a response form to indicate interest. Following state-mandated recruitment procedures, a second mailing was sent if no response was received. Surveys were sent to interested participants according to their preferred method, either by mail or online and in English or Spanish. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Breast (FACT-B) was utilized to assess five domains of HRQOL: physical, social, emotional, and functional well-being, with a breast cancer subscale. Utilizing the scoring manual, the FACT-B total score and HRQOL domain scores were calculated for each Hispanic subpopulation, with higher scores indicating a better HRQOL.

From September 2023 to February 2024, we received complete surveys from 165 eligible participants, including 18 Colombians, 10 Cubans, 11 Dominicans, 10 Mexicans, 95 Puerto Ricans, and 21 in the other category. The mean FACT-B total score was 102.6 across all origin groups. Cubans reported the highest score (116.3), while Dominicans reported the lowest score (97.8). Factors such as income, education level, marital status, smoking status, alcohol consumption, laterality, cancer stage, treatment type, and surgery type were all correlated with specific HRQOL domain scores that could be used to explain the disparities in HRQOL among Hispanic breast cancer survivors.

Thesis Completion Year

2024

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Lee, Eunkyung

College

College of Health Professions and Sciences

Department

Department of Health Sciences

Thesis Discipline

Health Sciences

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Download

Share

COinS
 

Rights Statement

In Copyright