Quality of survival among patients who have had radical mastectomy
✍ Scribed by David Schottenfkld; Guy F. Robbins
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1970
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 420 KB
- Volume
- 26
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0008-543X
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
In cooperation with the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, the Department of Clinical Statistics of the Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases has required information on the quality of survival from all cancer patients. This report analyzes the quality of survival among patients under 65 years of age who have had a radical mastectomy. The reference population consisted of 5,472 Caucasian women with primary operable breast cancer who were initially treated at Memorial Hospital during 1949-1962. A sample of 826 patients was then derived by randomly reviewing the patients who were listed on the cancer registry's monthly follow-up sheets. In addition, patients were systematically surveyed from the list of scheduled visits to the Memorial Hospital breast clinic. I n the study sample, 84% of the surviving patients at 5 years had resumed their preoperative activities. The 5-year performance status was significantly inferior in those patients who presented with regional disease. However, at 10 and 15 years, among the surviving patients, the quality of survival did not vary significantly with the stage of disease.
N ITS REPORT, THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION I on Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke estimated that, in 1962, the economic costs associated with cancer were $1 1.2 billion. T h e direct expenditures were estimated at $1.2 billion, or approximately 10% of the total. These included the costs for: a. preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative services; b. research, training, and educational programs; and c. construction of hospitals and related medical facilities allocated to cancer patients.
T h e less tangible indirect expenditures due to illness, disability, and premature death were $10 billion and considered the losses i n gainful employment and essential housekeeping responsibilities. These measurements of the incurred indirect costs included the premature deaths in 1962, in addition to the cancer deaths in previous years in those who would have been productive had they survived through 1962. More than 40% of the people who died from cancer in 1962 were i n