The inequality is exacerbated by breast cancer. Women with fewer financial resources have a greater impact on their quality of life than women with many resources, as a research team from Switzerland and France showed in a study.
The results call for more attention to 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, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, involved 5,900 women being treated for breast cancer in France. The research team examined five areas of quality of life. They were: general fatigue, mental health, sexual health and side effects. This depends on the socio-economic indicators of education level, family income and perceived financial situation.
Even at diagnosis, 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, the inequality was still greater two years after diagnosis than at diagnosis, the university writes.
Time and access to information
The researchers explain the increase in inequality by the fact that people with high socio-economic status find it easier to find the time, money and access to information to care for themselves and deal with the physical and psychological side effects of the disease than, for example, a single mother with a low income who does not have a caregiver for their children.
Source: Krone
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