Determination of the relationship between fatigue levels and self-care behaviors of patients with breast cancer

The high level of fatigue in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy negatively affects the functional status of the patients and makes it difficult to meet their self-care needs. The dependency level of the physically disabled individual increases and the quality of life is negatively affected. For this reason, the research has been conducted to determine the fatigue levels, self-care behaviors of breast cancer patients and the relationship between fatigue levels and self-care behaviors. This descriptive and correlational research has been conducted with 132 individuals with breast cancer who received cancer treatment at the Medical Oncology clinic of Konya Necmettin Erbakan University Faculty of Medicine between November 2022 and February 2023. As a data collection tool in the research; "Introductory Information Form", "Cancer Fatigue Scale" and "Self-Care Behaviors Scale According to Self-Care Deficiency Theory in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy" have been used. Data has been collected by face-to-face interview method. The data obtained has been analyzed using the SPSS program. To test the difference between two groups, t test has been used in independent groups, to test the difference between more than two groups, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) has been used for data with normal distribution, and Kruskall Wallis test has been used for data that has not showed normal distribution. Pearson Correlation analysis has been used in correlation analyzes where scale scores have been compared. Significance level has been determined as p<0,05. The average age of the patients participating in the study is 54,68±11,86 and 97,7% are female, 87,9% of them are married, 66,7% are primary school graduates, 40,2% of them have a family history of cancer, It has been determined that 40,2 of them have metastases and the most complaints (90,9%) are weakness and fatigue. The average score of the patients on the "Cancer Fatigue Scale" is 21,29±8,23, The mean score of the "Self-Care Behaviors Scale According to Self-Care Deficiency Theory in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy" has been found to be at a moderate level of 76,44±11,19. A negative, weakly significant relationship has been found between the total scores of the "Cancer Fatigue Scale" and the "Self-Care Behaviors Scale According to Self-Care Deficiency Theory in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy"(r=-0,344, p=0,000). As a result, in this study, it has been found that Self- Care Behaviors of patients are moderate level and their self-care behaviors decreased with increased fatigue levels. It is recommended to monitor the symptoms of patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy, monitor their self-care behaviors at regular intervals, and evaluate their self-care. Keywords: Breast cancer, Fatigue, Lack of self-care, Nursing.