Effects of early rehabilitation treatment on the functional recovery and quality of life in patients three months after breast cancer surgery

Abstract

Introduction/Objective. Breast cancer surgery is associated with the risk of developing functional constraints that may negatively affect the quality of patients? lives. The objective of the study was to determine the impact of early postoperative exercises three months after surgery on functional recovery and the quality of life of patients who were operated on. Methods. A group of 149 patients was tested, divided by the type of surgery into two groups. The assessment of the quality of life by the SF-36 questionnaire and functional testing were done three months after surgery; the extent of movement in the shoulder joint and of the limbs was measured as well. Results. On basic measurements of the quality of life, the average results of SF-36 showed the highest values in the domain of physical functioning, while the lowest value was in the vitality and energy domain. After the realized rehabilitation activities, the results of the SF-36 questionnaire indicated the increase in all domains and components at the significance level of p = 0.001, except for the general health domain (p = 0.04). Preoperatively, a moderate negative association of mobility and the SF-36 questionnaire component with the overall health parameter was determined, whereby the lower value of the SF-36 questionnaire was followed by a larger deviation in the flexion movements and abduction of the shoulder joint. Conclusion. The results of our study support the concept of early-initiated rehabilitation interventions and confirm the positive impact on the quality of life of patients operated on for breast cancer in the three-month follow-up period.