Fewer resources

Breast cancer: low-income women suffer more

Women on lower incomes suffer more when they are diagnosed with breast cancer.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

Inequalities are exacerbated by breast cancer. The quality of life of women with fewer financial resources is more affected than that of women with more resources, as a research team from Switzerland and France showed in a study.

The results call for greater consideration of socio-economic factors in support programs for women with breast cancer, the University of Geneva, which was involved in the study, reported on Tuesday.

5900 women surveyed
The study, which was published in the "Journal of Clinical Oncology", involved 5900 women who had been treated for breast cancer in France. The research team examined five areas of quality of life. These were: general fatigue, mental health, sexual health and side effects. In each case, this depended on the socio-economic indicators of education level, household income and perceived financial situation.

Even at diagnosis, the quality of life was higher in women with a high socio-economic status. According to the study, inequality increased during cancer treatment. To the researchers' surprise, inequality was still higher two years after diagnosis than at diagnosis, the university wrote.

Time and access to information
The researchers explain the increase in inequalities by the fact that people with high socioeconomic status find it easier to find the time, money and access to information to take care of themselves and cope with the physical and psychological side effects of the disease than, for example, a single mother with a low income who has no caregiver for her children.