@Article{Biskup2017,
journal="Medical Studies/Studia Medyczne",
issn="1899-1874",
volume="33",
number="2",
year="2017",
title="Falls-risk in senior women after radical treatment of breast cancer",
abstract=" Introduction : It is estimated that 35–40% people over the age of 65 experience at least one fall per year; for those over the age of 80 this increases to 50%, and for residents of institutional care facilities, to 60%.   Aim of the research : To evaluate the functional capacity and susceptibility to falling among women over 60 years of age, who had been treated for breast cancer.    Material and methods : The study group comprised 173 women aged 61–85 years (mean: 68.75 years), all breast cancer survivors treated at the Holy Cross Cancer Centre in Kielce. Functional efficiency was measured using the Senior Fitness Test (SFT), and the falls-risk assessment was carried out using the POMA Tinetti test. An additional questionnaire was used to assess the anxiety associated with falls. The relationship between functional capacity and the falls-risk, and between the amount of medication used and the falls-risk, were also assessed.   Results : In all SFT tests, the women had lower scores compared to the recommended standards. Medium and high falls-risk were reported in 27% of patients. Apart from an increase in falls-risk, the women reported poorer results in all physical fitness tests. An increase in the number of medications taken was associated with lower Tinetti test results.   Conclusions:   Women treated for breast cancer were exposed to a high falls-risk. The treatment management applied to women with breast cancer adversely affected their functional capacities. Furthermore, an increase in the amount of medication taken by post-mastectomy women resulted in a still higher exposure to falls-risk. Task-oriented, physical rehabilitation programmes should therefore promptly be introduced to address the problem of falls and resultant fractures among senior post-mastectomy women.",
author="Biskup, Małgorzata
and Góźdź, Stanisław
and Macek, Paweł
and Opuchlik, Anna
and Skowronek, Tomasz
and Polit, Łukasz
and Żak, Marek",
pages="110--116",
doi="10.5114/ms.2017.68704",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/ms.2017.68704"
}