Awareness Scale Related To Physiotherapy After Breast Cancer: A Scale Development Study

Regarded as a "wound that never heals," cancer is characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal cells and the abnormal recognition of the immune system. Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, with an estimated 14.1 million cases and 8.2 million deaths per year. Approximately 1 in 4 deaths in the United States are due to cancer, however, the cancer burden has increased over time and continues to increase in both developed and developing countries due to an aging and growing population, accelerated socioeconomic development, and changes in the prevalence of associated risk factors.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women and one of the three most common types of cancer worldwide, along with lung and colon cancer, usually detected either by screening or by a symptom (for example, pain or a palpable mass) that warrants a diagnostic examination. Advances in screening and treatment methods enable the diagnosis of this disease in its early stages. The primary treatment for early-stage breast cancer is surgery with adjuvant treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and endocrine therapy. However, these treatments also cause side effects such as pain, fatigue and sleep disorders. Such effects can significantly worsen the patient's health-related quality of life, especially in the immediate post-operative period.

Due to advances in systemic therapies, widely used screening programs, and the high incidence of breast cancer, the number of women who survive breast cancer is constantly increasing. Many of these women have multiple, complex and unique healthcare needs. Women who have completed their treatment have difficulty returning to their normal lives, often feel 'abandoned' and report that their health care needs are not adequately met. This is among the important problems affecting the lives of breast cancer survivors and their families.

The most important problems encountered at the end of breast cancer treatment are cardiotoxicity, pain, fatigue, lymphedema, cognitive impairment, early menopause, distress, depression and anxiety, neuropathy, infertility, musculoskeletal system problems, and osteoporosis. It is especially important to take precautions against such effects, as the survival rate is increasing.

Although physical activity is often used as an adjunctive therapy to alleviate disease and treatment-related symptoms during chemotherapy and radiotherapy, its effects such as improvement in patients' physical function, vitality, strength and quality of life, reduced risk of developing lymphedema, decreased depression, fatigue and pain, and reduced psychological complaints cannot be ignored, physical activity is also associated with a reduced risk of relapse and a better survival. Exercise programs have also been shown to improve mental health-related quality of life among breast cancer survivors who have completed cancer treatment.