FAMILY ENVIRONMENT, HOBBIES AND HABITS AS PSYCHOSOCIAL PREDICTORS OF SURVIVAL FOR SURGICALLY TREATED PATIENTS WITH BREAST-CANCER

Many psychosocial factors have been reported to influence the duration of survival of breast cancer patients. We have studied how family mem bers, hobbies and habits of the patients may alter their psychosocial status, Female patients with surgically treated breast cancer diagnose d between 1986 and 1995 at the Tochigi Cancer Center Hospital, who pro vided information on the above-mentioned factors, were used, Their sub sequent physical status was followed up in the outpatients clinic, The Cox regression model was used to evaluate the relationship between th e results of the factors examined and the duration of the patients' su rvival, adjusting for the patients' age, stage oi disease at diagnosis and curability, as judged by the physician in charge after the treatm ent. The following factors were revealed to be significant with regard to the survival of surgically treated breast cancer patients: being a widow (hazard ratio 3.29; 95% confidence interval 1.32-8.20), having a hobby (hazard ratio 0.43; 95% confidence interval 0.23-0.82), number of hobbies (hazard ratio 0.64; 95% confidence interval 0.41-1.00), nu mber of female children (hazard ratio 0.64; 95% confidence interval 0. 42-0.98), smoker (hazard ratio 2.08; 95% confidence interval 1.02-4.26 ) and alcohol consumption (hazard ratio 0.10; 95% confider-ace interva l 0.01-0.72). These results suggest that psychosocial factors, includi ng the family environment, where patients receive emotional support fr om their spouse and children, hobbies and the patients' habits, may in fluence the duration of survival in surgically treated breast cancer p atients.