Fatigue and hope: relationships to psychosocial adjustment in Korean women with breast cancer.

Abstract

This study focuses on the relationships of fatigue and hope to psychosocial adjustment of 122 Korean women with breast cancer who received postsurgical chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The results indicated that after controlling for hope, fatigue uniquely accounted for 38% of the variance in psychosocial adjustment. After controlling for fatigue, hope uniquely accounted for 7% of the variance in psychosocial adjustment. However, there was no significant interaction between fatigue and hope in accounting for the variance in psychosocial adjustment. The findings inform clinicians of the importance of fatigue and hope, so that they may consider these factors when planning care for women with breast cancer, especially in women receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy.