Self-perceived health status of Irish breast cancer survivors.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data on the health status of breast cancer survivors. AIMS: To measure the self-perceived health status of a cohort of breast cancer survivors by means of the SF-36 questionnaire. METHODS: The questionnaire was administered to 120 survey participants. Findings were compared with those of an external comparison group. RESULTS: The health status of the survey participants was found to be significantly better than that of the comparison group on four of the eight SF-36 dimensions--social functioning, mental health, vitality and general health perceptions. CONCLUSIONS: The self-perceived health status of breast cancer survivors merits further research in the Irish context. Inclusion of the SF-36 questionnaire as an outcome measure is recommended.