Effect of resilience on quality of life and anxiety in patients with breast cancer

BACKGROUND The incidence of breast cancer is high, with serious implications in terms of lives and health. Relevant data show that there are approximately 1 million new cases of breast cancer reported annually, with a rising trend. Some patients have poor treatment effects and are prone to anxiety and other negative emotions, which affect their quality of life (QoL). AIM To explore the correlation between mental resilience, QoL, and anxiety in patients with breast cancer. METHODS Using convenience sampling, 200 patients with breast cancer were selected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University. These patients were investigated using the Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire to analyze the impact of resilience in patients with breast cancer on their QoL and anxiety. RESULTS The mean (SD) mental resilience score of the patients with breast cancer was 59.68 (± 9.84) points, the anxiety score was 49.87 (± 8.26) points, and the QoL score was 59.73 (± 8.29) points. Overall, they showed low mental resilience, mild anxiety, and medium QoL. Anxiety was negatively correlated with mental resilience and QoL (r = -0.275, r = -0.289, P < 0.05). QoL was positively correlated with mental resilience (r = 0.513, P < 0.05). Anxiety was a mediating variable between mental resilience and QoL, accounting for 8.58% of the mediating effect. CONCLUSION Regarding psychological elasticity, anxiety plays an intermediary role in QoL among patients with breast cancer. Medical staff can improve patients' mental resilience by reducing their anxiety and improving their QoL.