Improvement of quality of life on breast cancer-related lymphedema patients through a postmastectomy care program in Mexico: a prospective study

Purpose To assess whether health-related quality of life (HRQOL) improved through a postmastectomy care program focused on breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) protection/awareness. Methods Postoperative breast cancer patients were enrolled prospectively (February-2018 to September-2019) at Nursing and Obstetrics Faculty, Durango, Mexico. Sociodemographic/clinical characteristics, arm measurements, and HRQOL evaluation with Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer were collected at baseline and after six follow-up assessments between six-to-twelve-month postmastectomy. Lymphedema was verified through circometry. Descriptive analysis and McNemar-Bowker test were used to evaluate paired differences in HRQOL. Subgroup analysis was conducted to assess sociodemographic/clinical characteristics of BCRL using Pearson’s chi-squared or Fisher exact test along with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). All tests were two-sided with P -values