Sociodemographic Status of Breast Cancer Survivors in Chennai

Breast cancer is a life-threatening illness and is the type of cancer most often diagnosed in women. While the survival rate increases with the current option of screening and care, this disease is found in one out of four women. Patients' demographic profile has also had a significant influence on patients' morbidity and mortality, and socio-demographic and clinical factors need to be studied. This research is intended to examine breast cancer survivors' socio-demographic and clinical profile in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Descriptive cross-sectional research was performed at a tertiary care hospital that included 150 breast cancer survivors on therapy with a structured questionnaire to collect data. Participants' mean age was 51.57 +/- 9.51 years, 56.67% were overweight, 59.33% had primary education, and 88% were married. Almost all of the participants were semi-urban residents, homemakers and 93.3% received treatment for less than five years and were in the third stage of cancer receiving hormone therapy. Considerably 41.33% of them are living with diabetes as a co-morbid condition. Most of them (76 %) had 4 to 8 hours of sleep. Breast cancer is a public health issue that needs urgent attention. The result will widen the reach for potential researchers and help policymakers prepare exclusive schemes for breast cancer survivors that will increase their quality of life and productivity.