Factors affecting quality of life in women with breast cancer: a path analysis

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer may negatively affect people’s quality of life. We investigated the predictors of quality of life in women with breast cancer with the mediating role of resilience. METHOD: In a cross-sectional design, 218 patients completed a survey referring to the Valiasr International Hospital Oncology Center in Tabriz, Iran. Four validated self-report measures assessed HRQoL as measured by the SF-12, Resilience, Hope, and Perceived Social Support (MSPs). The mediating roles of resilience between HRQoL and the fitness of the proposed model were investigated using path analysis. SPSS version 24 software and Lisrel 8.8 software were used for data analysis. RESULTS: The results of path analysis showed that the final model had a good fit to the data (Chi-Square/ degrees of freedom (Normed Chi2) = 2.08, RMSEA = 0.014, goodness fit index = 0.99, both comparative fit index = 0.99 both CFI = 0.99 and IFI = 1). In this model, age and psychosocial factors predicted health-related quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Age and psychosocial factors especially social support are important components in predicting health-related quality of life among those suffering from breast cancer.