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Quality of Life and Coping of Women Treated for Breast Cancer and Their Caregiver. What are the Interactions?

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Abstract

This longitudinal study analyzed the interactions between the quality of life and the coping strategies of 100 patients treated for breast cancer and their caregivers. Data were collected after diagnosis, at the end of treatment, and 6 months after treatment with the Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30 (QLQ-C30), Duke Health Profile and Ways of Coping Checklist for both patients and caregivers. The theoretical model was tested using a typology of patients and mixed model analyses. The quality of life of patients changed over time and no cluster effect was found. The influence of the sociodemographic characteristics, coping strategies (patients and caregivers) and the quality of life of caregivers on patient’s quality of life were different according to the quality of life dimensions considered. To understand the adaptation of patients to their disease, it is therefore essential to look at whether the caregiver is capable of playing a supporting role.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to extend their sincere thanks to the women and their caregivers who took part in this study. They would also like to thank the Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer (French Cancer League) for its financial support, Doctor Dravet at the Cancer Treatment and Research Center of Saint Herblain for his time and help and Mme Anne Hartmann who participated in collecting the data.

Ethical standards

The study protocol was approved by the scientific committee of the Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer (the French Cancer League) and by the management committee of the Cancer Treatment and Research Center René Gauducheau of Saint Herbalin (Nantes in France).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EA 4275 “Biostatistique, Recherche Clinique et Mesures Subjectives en Santé”, Université of Nantes Faculté de Médecine, 1, rue Gaston Veil, BP 53508, 44035, Nantes Cedex 1, France

    Angélique Bonnaud-Antignac

  2. Equipe “Biostatistique, Recherche Clinique et mesures subjectives en santé”, EA 4275, Département de Biomathématiques et Biostatistique, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Nantes, Nantes Cedex, France

    Jean-Benoit Hardouin, Julie Leger & Véronique Sebille

  3. Centre Régional de Lutte Contre le Cancer Nantes-Atlantique, Saint-Herblain, France

    François Dravet

Authors
  1. Angélique Bonnaud-Antignac
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  2. Jean-Benoit Hardouin
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  3. Julie Leger
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  4. François Dravet
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  5. Véronique Sebille
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Correspondence to Angélique Bonnaud-Antignac.

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Bonnaud-Antignac, A., Hardouin, JB., Leger, J. et al. Quality of Life and Coping of Women Treated for Breast Cancer and Their Caregiver. What are the Interactions?. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 19, 320–328 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-012-9300-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-012-9300-9

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