1Research Scholar, Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi-221005, Uttar Pradesh, India. Contact: dheeraj.kumar1@bhu.ac.in, d.mishrabhu@gmail.com, Mob. +91-9450905562
2Professor, Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, Uttar Pradesh India
3Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, IMS, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, UP, India
The objective of the present study was to compare the level of memory of breast cancer patients with normal controls at pre-treatment condition (after diagnosis and before the initiation of any treatment). A total 98 participants aged 60 years or younger (49 women who were diagnosed with I to III stages of breast cancer, and 49 of normal controls) matched on age and education, were performed on a test of attention and concentration, and a memory test at pre-treatment condition. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants in the study. Results of the study show a significant mean difference on the level of memory (t (96) = 3.56, p < 0.001) between breast cancer patients (M= 66.22 ± 5.86) and normal controls (M = 61.37 ± 7.54). However, no significant mean difference (t (96) = 1.237, p < 0.219) was found on attention and concentration between the groups. Results indicate that breast cancer patients perform poorly on memory even before the initiation of any treatment for cancer, and it was independent of the effect of age, years of formal education, and impaired attention. Shreds of evidence of this study caution for the interpretation of higher-order cognitive functioning at pre and post-treatment conditions and indicate that there are some other factors than the cancer treatment that is responsible for cognitive decline among breast cancer patients. These factors might be operative even before the initiation of the treatment and start exerting their effect on cognitive functions of cancer patients.
Pre-treatment cognitive impairments, breast cancer, memory, attention and concentration
