Table 4.
Breast cancer patients' pre-diagnosis and follow-ups functioning and symptoms scores as measured by the EORTC QLQ-BR23* (n = 99)
| Baseline assessment | 3 months follow-up | 18 months follow-up | P | |
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | ||
| Functioning | ||||
| Body image | 86.2 (18.8) | 61.4 (34.4) | 60.8 (34.4) | <0.001 |
| Sexual functioning | 82.3 (22.4) | 74.5 (21.9) | 67.7 (26.4) | <0.001 |
| Sexual enjoyment | 51.6 (25.3) | 46.6 (25.1) | 23.3 (28.8) | <0.001 |
| Future perspective | 29.9 (29.5) | 36.0 (26.4) | 36.7 (29.1) | <0.001 |
| Symptoms+ | ||||
| Arm symptoms | 7.7 (13.3) | 17.2 (16.5) | 24.8 (20.2) | <0.001 |
| Breast symptoms | 15.6 (15.0) | 10.2 (14.0) | 6.5 (9.7) | <0.001 |
| Systematic therapy side effects | 15.7 (11.8) | 29.2 (17.5) | 18.0 (13.7) | <0.001 |
| Upset by hair loss | 0.00 | 38.9 (38.9) | 50.0 (18.2) | 0.003 |
* Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores representing a higher level of functioning.
+ Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores representing a higher level of symptoms.