Download PDF
Physikalische Medizin, Rehabilitationsmedizin, Kurortmedizin 2014; 24(05): 256-261
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1389994
Wissenschaft und Forschung
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

The Influence of Social Relationships on the Quality of Life of Women with Breast Cancer

Der Einfluss sozialer Beziehungen auf die Lebensqualität von Frauen mit Brustkrebs
J. Lamprecht
1   Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
,
A. Thyrolf
1   Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
,
W. Mau
1   Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received 11 August 2014

accepted 05 September 2014

Publication Date:
24 October 2014 (online)

Also available at
    Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Introduction: Previous studies have examined the influence of cancer treatment on the quality of life of women with breast cancer. In this context the social environment of the patients has rarely been considered.

Purpose: This study explored the influence of different components of the social networks of women with breast cancer on the quality of life.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 75 women (18–63 years; primary, non-metastatic breast cancer) completed a questionnaire at the beginning of an inpatient rehabilitation program. An ego-centered network generator was utilized to analyze the social networks. The quality of life was measured using the EORTC QLQ-C30.

Results: The size of the family network as well as the frequency of contact had an important impact on the quality of life of women with breast cancer.

Conclusions: The knowledge about the composition of the social network of breast cancer patients can provide valuable information throughout the treatment process.

Zusammenfassung

Einleitung: Bisherige Studien haben vor allem den Einfluss behandlungsassoziierter Faktoren auf die Lebensqualität bei Frauen mit Brustkrebs untersucht. Das soziale Umfeld der Patientinnen wurde in diesem Kontext bislang kaum betrachtet.

Ziel: Extraktion von Merkmalen des sozialen Netzwerkes von Frauen mit Brustkrebs, die einen Einfluss auf die Lebensqualität haben.

Methoden: Grundlage der Querschnittsanalyse bildete eine standardisierte schriftliche Befragung von N=75 Frauen mit Brustkrebs (18–63 Jahre) zu Beginn der Rehabilitation. Zur Erhebung der sozialen Beziehungen wurde ein egozentrierter Netzwerkgenerator eingesetzt. Die Lebensqualität wurde mit dem EORTC QLQ-C30 erhoben.

Ergebnisse: Die Größe des familiären Netzwerkes sowie die Häufigkeit des Kontakts haben einen positiven Einfluss auf die Lebensqualität.

Fazit: Das Wissen um die Struktur, Quantität und Qualität des sozialen Netzwerkes von Frauen mit Brustkrebs kann im gesamten Behandlungsprozess wertvolle Informationen bereitstellen.

Key words

breast cancer - oncology - quality of life - social network - social relationships

Schlüsselwörter

Brustkrebs - Onkologie - Lebensqualität - soziales Netzwerk - soziale Beziehungen
 

  • References

  • 1 Schön D, Bertz J, Görsch B et al. Die Dachdokumentation Krebs. Gesundheitsbl – Gesundheitsforsch – . Gesundheitsschutz 2004; 47: 429-436
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Blazeby JM. Health-Related Quality of Life Measurement in Randomized Clinical Trials in Surgical Oncology. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2006; 24: 3178-3186
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Sapp AL, Trentham-Dietz A, Newcomb PA et al. Social networks and quality of life among female long-term colorectal cancer survivors. Cancer 2003; 98: 1749-1758
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Salonen P, Kellokumpu-Lehtinen P, Tarkka M et al. Changes in quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2011; 20: 255-266
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Engel J, Kerr J, Schlesinger-Raab A et al. Axilla Surgery Severely Affects Quality of Life: Results of a 5-Year Prospective Study in Breast Cancer Patients. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 2003; 79: 47-57
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Ganz PA, Kwan L, Stanton AL et al. Quality of Life at the End of Primary Treatment of Breast Cancer: First Results From the Moving Beyond Cancer Randomized Trial. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2004; 96: 376-387
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Michael YL, Berkman LF, Colditz GA et al. Social networks and health-related quality of life in breast cancer survivors A prospective study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 2002; 52: 285-293
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Antonucci TC. Social support Theoretical advances, recent findings and pressing issues. In: Sarason LG, Sarason BR. (eds.). Social support: Theory, research and application. Boston: Nijhoff; 1985: 21-37
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Laireiter A. Soziales Netzwerk und soziale Unterstützung: Konzepte, Methoden und Befunde. Bern: Huber; 1993
    Google Scholar
  • 10 Schwarzer R, Leppin A. Social Support and Health: A Theoretical and Empirical Overview. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 1991; 8: 99-127
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Seeman TE. Social Ties and Helath: The Benefits of Social Integration. AEP 1996; 6: 442-451
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Kroenke CH. Social Networks, Social Support, and Survival After Breast Cancer Diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2006; 24: 1105-1111
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Beasley JM, Newcomb PA, Trentham-Dietz A et al. Social networks and survival after breast cancer diagnosis. Journal of Cancer Survivorship 2010; 4: 372-380
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 14 Cohen S. Social Relationships and Health. American Psychologist 2004; 676-684
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 15 Bergelt C, Prescott E, Grønbæk M et al. Social ties and risk for cancer – a prospective cohort study. Acta Oncologica 2009; 48: 1010-1018
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Kienle R, Knoll N, Renneberg B. Soziale Ressourcen und Gesundheit: soziale Unterstützung und dyadisches Bewältigen. In: Renneberg B, Hammelstein P. (eds.). Gesundheitspsychologie. Heidelberg: Springer; 2006: 107-122
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Bloom JR, Stewart SL, Johnston M et al. Sources of support and the physical and mental well-being of young women with breast cancer. Social Science and Medicine 2001; 53: 1513-1524
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 18 Ganz PA, Coscarelli A, Fred C et al. Breast cancer survivors: psychosocial concerns and quality of life. Breast Cancer Res Treat 1996; 38: 183-199
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 19 Salmon CA, Daly M. On the Importance of Kin Relations to Canadian Women and Men. Ethology and Sociobiology 1996; 17: 289-297
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 20 Lang FR. Endings and Continuity of Social Relationships: Maximizing Intrinsic Benefits within Personal Networks when Feeling Near to Death. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 2000; 17: 155-182
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Burnstein E, Crandall C, Kitayama S. Some Neo-Darwinian Decision Rules for Altruism: Weighing Cues for Inclusive Fitness as a Function of the Biological Importance of the Decision. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1994; 67: 773-789
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 22 Kotkamp-Mothes N, Slawinsky D, Hindermann S et al. Coping and psychological well being in families of elderly cancer patients. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology 2005; 55: 213-229
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 23 Neyer FJ, Lang FR. Blood is thicker than water: Kinship orientation across adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003; 84: 310-321
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 24 Marsden PV. Homogeneity in confiding relations. Social Networks 1988; 10: 57-76
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 25 Wrzus C, Wagner J, Neyer FJ. The interdependence of horizontal family relationships and friendships relates to higher well-being. Personal Relationships 2011; 1-18
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 26 Trezzini B. Konzepte und Methoden der sozialwissenschaftlichen Netzwerkanalyse: Eine aktuelle Übersicht. Zeitschrift für Soziologie 1998; 27: 378-394
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 27 Matzat U, Snijders C. Does the online collection of ego-centered network data reduce data quality? An experimental comparison. Social Networks 2010; 32: 105-111
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 28 Wolf C. Egozentrierte Netzwerke: Datenerhebung und Datenanalyse. In: Stegbauer C, Häußling R. (eds.). Handbuch Netzwerkforschung. Wiesbaden: VS Verl. für Sozialwiss; 2010: 471-483
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 29 Aaronson NK, Ahmedzai S, Bergman B et al. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30: A Quality-of-Life Instrument for Use in International Clinical Trials in Oncology. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1993; 85: 365-376
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 30 Schwarz R, Hinz A. Reference data for the quality of life questionnaire EORTC QOL-C30 in the general German population. European Journal of Cancer 2001; 1345-1351
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 31 Chou AF, Stewart SL, Wild RC et al. Social support and survival in young women with breast carcinoma. Psycho-Oncology 2012; 21: 125-133
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 32 McPherson M, Smith-Lovin L, Cook JM. Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks. Annual Review of Sociology 2001; 27: 415-444
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 33 Kalmijn M. Sex Segregation of Friendship Networks. Individual and Structural Determinants of Having Cross-Sex Friends. European Sociological Review 2002; 18: 101-117
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 34 Bruckner E, Knaup K. Women’s and Men’s Friendships in Comparative Perspective. European Sociological Review 1993; 9: 249-266
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 35 Hollstein B. Grenzen sozialer Integration. Berlin: Leske+Budrich; 2001
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 36 Salmon CA, Daly M. On the Importance of Kin Relations to Canadian Women and Men. Ethology and Sociobiology 1996; 17: 289-297
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 37 Lang FR. Endings and Continuity of Social Relationships: Maximizing Intrinsic Benefits within Personal Networks when Feeling Near to Death. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 2000; 17: 155-182
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 38 Burnstein E, Crandall C, Kitayama S. Some Neo-Darwinian Decision Rules for Altruism: Weighing Cues for Inclusive Fitness as a Function of the Biological Importance of the Decision. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1994; 67: 773-789
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 39 Kotkamp-Mothes N, Slawinsky D, Hindermann S et al. Coping and psychological well being in families of elderly cancer patients. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology 2005; 55: 213-229
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 40 Bloom JR, Kessler L. Emotional Support Following Cancer: A Test of the Stigma and Social Activity Hypotheses. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 1994; 35: 118-133
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 41 Lischka A, Popien C, Linden M. Messinstrumente zur Erfassung des sozialen Netzes. Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, Medizinische Psychologie 2005; 55: 358-364
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 42 Pinto AC, de Azambuja E. Improving quality of life after breast cancer: Dealing with symptoms. Maturitas 2011; 70: 343-348
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 43 Klinkhammer-Schalke M, Koller M, Steinger B et al. Direct improvement of quality of life using a tailored quality of life diagnosis and therapy pathway: randomised trial in 200 women with breast cancer. British Journal of Cancer 2012; 106: 826-838
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 44 Scott NW, Fayers PM, Aaronson NK et al. on behalf of the EORTC Quality of Life Group . EORTC QLQ-C30 Reference Values. Brussels: EORTC Quality of Life Group Publications; 2008
    Google Scholar
  • 45 Feiring C, Coates D. Social Networks and Gender Differences in the Life Space of Opportunity: Introduction 1. Sex Roles 1987; 17: 611-620
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 46 Veiel HOF, Herrle J. Geschlechtsspezifische Strukturen sozialer Unterstützungsnetzwerke. Zeitschrift für Soziologie 1991; 20: 237-245
    PubMedGoogle Scholar