The Factors Influencing Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify the influence of hope, resilience, and spousal support on quality of life in women with breast cancer. Methods: A predictive correlational design was used. The data were collected by questionnaires from a convenience sample of 163 women with breast cancer in 2012. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson's Correlation Coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: Mean age of the participants was 51.5 +/- 6.39 and 46.0% reported to have stage II at diagnosis and 40.5% were more than 5 years since diagnosis. The quality of life was different by age and type of surgery. Hope, resilience, spousal support, and quality of life were significantly correlated each other (r=.35-.64,p<.01). Quality of life accounted for 23.4% of the variance by resilience, spousal support, and type of surgery. The most important factor was resilience, which explained 18.9% of the variation. Conclusion: The results of the study show the importance of resilience in explaining the quality of life in Korean women with breast cancer. Thus, oncology nurses should focus on resilience to develop and implement more effective interventions to improve patients' quality of life.