title: [The sense of coherence and the quality of life of patients treated for breast cancer].
abstract: For women, breast cancer causes great mental stress and affects their functioning in the somatic and psychosocial domain both during the process of diagnostics and therapy, and for a long period of time after the received treatment. A high sense of coherence leads to being better at coping with stress and a can promote the quality of life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the sense of coherence on the satisfaction with life of post-mastectomy patients, and also on the time which passes between noticing the first symptoms of the disease and reporting to a doctor, and on the timely execution of medical recommendations. The study involved 60 women, age between 30 and 70 years, after a mastectomy procedure due to diagnosed breast cancer. The study used the method of diagnostic survey. The following tools were applied: the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS--E. Diener et al.), the 13-item Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC 13), and a short questionnaire developed by the author. No statistically significant association was found between the level of the sense of coherence and the timely execution of medical recommendations, and the level of the satisfaction with life of the subjects p > 0.05. However, the existence of a statistically significant association was demonstrated between the sense of coherence and the time of reporting to a doctor after noticing disturbing symptoms p < 0.05.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motyka
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dziubak
authors.forename: Jedrusik
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patrycja
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011788:Quality of Life; D060685:Sense of Coherence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires