Psychoeducational program for breast cancer survivors, effect on cancer-related fatigue and quality of life

Objectives
To assess the efficacy of the psychoeducational program in alleviating cancer-related fatigue and mood symptoms, and improving quality of life of breast cancer survivors.
Methods
A prospective follow-up case–control study was carried out between June and December 2010. Eighty patients were randomly selected from among women who had recently completed their treatments for breast cancer at the outpatient clinic in the Department of Clinical Oncology, Cairo University (Egypt). They were divided into group A, which received the program, and group B, the waiting control group. Karnofsky Performance Scale was used to exclude physical disability. Assessment was carried out twice, at weeks 0 and 4, using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Health-Related Quality of Life-Short Form (HRQL-SF) 36, and Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form (MFSI-SF). The psychiatric diagnosis was made according to the criteria.
Results
There was a nonsignificant difference between both groups in terms of sociodemographic or medical data, and the mean scores of HADS, HRQL-SF 36, and MFSI-SF at week 0. There was a significant difference between both the groups in terms of the mean scores of HADS, HRQL-SF 36, and MFSI-SF at week 4. There was a significant difference between the mean scores of HADS, HRQL-SF 36, and MFSI-SF in group A before and after the intervention.
Conclusion
Fatigue is a major problem in the majority of breast cancer patients after therapy. A psychoeducational program improves various aspects of patients’ physical, emotional, and quality of life.