title: [Professional or household performance of patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy with respect to their epidemiologic and clinical variables as well as performance at work or at home.
  
  
  METHODS
  this was a cross-sectional study including 52 women interviewed during breast cancer chemotherapy, stratified in two groups: those who continued to work and do household tasks, and did not continue to work or do household tasks. Patients were from two public hospitals in the State of São Paulo, one in Santo Andre and the other in São Bernardo do Campo. The WPAI - GH (Work Productivity and Activity Impairment) questionnaire was used to evaluate work and household performance of professionals or housewives, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age of the patients was 55.7 (SD=13.8), most were Caucasian (88.5%), married (55.8%), employed (65.3%) and the majority had to stop working because of treatment (51.0%), at more advanced stage (p<0.05), fatigue and nausea (p<0.05). Mean WPAI - GH was 67.04 (|SD = 5.62) for patients who stopped working and 49.17 (SD = 6.89) for those who continued to work (Mann-Whitney U test: p = 0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chemotherapy leads to a decrease in performance of a sizable fraction of women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. A more advanced stage of neoplasia was positively associated with withdrawal from these activities probably due to side effects such as fatigue and nausea.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, Santo André, SP.
authors.forename: Lourdes Conceição
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Celso
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferreira Filho
authors.forename: Auro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Del Giglio
authors.forename: Daniela Armonia
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Munhoes
authors.forename: Lígia Lopes Balsalobre
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Trevizan
authors.forename: Lívia Grigoriitchuk
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Herbst
authors.forename: Mariana da Cunha
authors.initials: Mda C
authors.lastname: Viera
authors.forename: Patrícia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taranto
authors.forename: Susy Cunha
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pachon
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents