Quality of Life in Malay and Chinese Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer in Kelantan, Malaysia

Yusuf, Azlina,Hadi, Imi Sairi Ab.,Mahamood, Zainal,Ahmad, Zulkifli,Keng, Soon Lean Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.1

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in Malaysia. A diagnosis is very stressful for women, affecting all aspects of their being and quality of life. As such, there is little information on quality of life of women with breast cancer across the different ethnic groups in Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of life in Malay and Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Kelantan. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study involved 58 Malays and 15 Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer prior to treatment. Quality of life was measured using the Malay version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and its breast-specific module (QLQ-BR23). Socio-demographic and clinical data were also collected. All the data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: Most of the women were married with at least a secondary education and were in late stages of breast cancer. The Malay women had lower incomes (p=0.046) and more children (p=0.001) when compared to the Chinese women. Generally, both the Malay and Chinese women had good functioning quality-of-life scores [mean score range: 60.3-84.8 (Malays); 65.0-91.1 (Chinese)] and global quality of life [mean score 60.3, SD 22.2 (Malays); mean score 65.0, SD 26.6 (Chinese)]. The Malay women experienced more symptoms such as nausea and vomiting (p=0.002), dyspnoea (p=0.004), constipation (p<0.001) and breast-specific symptoms (p=0.041) when compared to the Chinese. Conclusions: Quality of life was satisfactory in both Malays and Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Kelantan. However, Malay women had a lower quality of life due to high general as well as breast-specific symptoms. This study finding underlined the importance of measuring quality of life in the newly diagnosed breast cancer patient, as it will provide a broader picture on how a cancer diagnosis impacts multi-ethnic patients. Once health care professionals understand this, they might then be able to determine how to best support and improve the quality of life of these women during the difficult times of their disease and on-going cancer treatments.

Predictors of early postoperative hypocalcemia after total parathyroidectomy in renal hyperparathyroidism

Poh Guan Tan,Imi Sairi Ab. Hadi,Zalina Zahari,Maya Mazuwin Yahya,Wan Zainira Wan Zain,Michael Pak-Kai Wong,Rosnelifaizur Ramely,Mohd Nizam Md Hashim,Syed Hassan Syed Abd. Aziz,Zaidi Zakaria,Andee Dzul 대한외과학회 2020 Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research(ASRT) Vol.98 No.1

Purpose: Patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism are at high risk for developing postoperative hypocalcemia. However, there are limited data regarding predictors of postoperative hypocalcemia in renal failure patient with secondary hyperparathyroidism. This study aimed to determine the clinical presentations of renal hyperparathyroidism and the predictors of early postoperative hypocalcemia after total parathyroidectomy. Methods: Data of patients with renal hyperparathyroidism who underwent total parathyroidectomy between January 2007 to December 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were divided into 2 cohort groups according to their serum calcium levels within 24 hours of parathyroidectomy: the hypocalcemia group (calcium levels of 2 mmol/L or less), and the normocalcemia group (calcium levels more than 2 mmol/L). With the use of multivariable logistic regression analyses, the predictors of early postoperative hypocalcemia after total parathyroidectomy in patients with renal hyperparathyroidism were investigated. Results: Among 68 patients, 56 patients (82.4%) were symptomatic preoperatively. Fifty patients (73.5%) presented with bone pain and 14 patients (20.6%) had muscle weakness. Early postoperative hypocalcemia occurred in 25 patients (36.8%). Preoperative alkaline phosphatase level was the predictor of early postoperative hypocalcemia (adjusted odds ratio, 1.004; 95% confidence interval, 1.001–1.006; P = 0.002). Conclusion: Results from our study show that most of the patients with renal hyperparathyroidism were symptomatic preoperatively and the most common clinical presentations were bone pain and muscle weakness. The significant predictor of early postoperative hypocalcemia after total parathyroidectomy was the preoperative alkaline phosphatase levels.

Fabrication modeling of industrial CO2 ionic liquids absorber by artificial neural networks

Yadollah Abdollahi,Nor Asrina Sairi,Mohamed Khereddine Aroua,Hamid Reza Fard Masoumi,Hossein Jahangirian,Yatimah Alias 한국공업화학회 2015 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.25 No.-

The fabrication of industrial CO2 blended solution absorber was modeled by artificial neutral network. First the generated model had been statistically evaluated and then its ability of prediction was confirmed by validation test. The validated model was used to predict the desirable density and relative importance of the fabrication’s effective variables. In conclusion, the importance included x[H2O], 36.18%, x[gua], 25.37%, x[MDEA], 25.34% and temperature, 13.11% which showed none of them is negligible as well as the density (g cm3) was validated by further experiment that showed the actual density, 1.101, was quite close to the predicted value, 1.017.

Understanding the Breast Cancer Experience: a Qualitative Study of Malaysian Women

Yusuf, Azlina,Ab Hadi, Imi Sairi,Mahamood, Zainal,Ahmad, Zulkifli,Keng, Soon Lean Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.6

Breast cancer is the most common and leading cause of cancer mortality among Malaysian women. Despite good survival rates, the diagnosis of cancer still invokes the feeling of stress, fear and uncertainty. Because very little is known about the experiences of Malaysian women with breast cancer, a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to explore the lived experience of newly diagnosed breast cancer. Using a purposive sampling method, 20 Malaysian women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, including Malays (n=10) and Chinese (n=10) were recruited in two main public hospitals in Kelantan. Similarities and divergence in women's experience were identified through thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Three themes emerged from the data: uncertainty experience of the illness, transition process and fatalistic view of breast cancer. In many ways, these findings were parallel with previous studies, suggesting that the experience of breast cancer is to a certain extent similar among women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. This study adds to the sparse literature concerning the experience of illness following breast cancer diagnosis among the Malays and Chinese. More importantly, this study addressed areas that were previously lacking, specifically in depth information on breast cancer experience from a developing country with a multi-ethnic population. The results of this investigation provide preliminary information to healthcare professionals on the impact of illness and cultural influence on survivorship to plan for appropriate education and supportive programme in order to meet the needs of breast cancer women more effectively.

Enhancement of electronic protection to reduce e-waste

Yadollah Abdollahi,Suhana Binti Mohd Said,Nor Asrina Sairi,Mohd Faizul Bin Mohd Sabri,Azmi Zakaria,Ebrahim Abouzari-lotf,Masoumeh Dorraj,Raba’ah Syahidah Aziz 한국공업화학회 2015 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.29 No.-

The electronic devices turn to e-waste due to their insufficient electrical protection which is provided bya ceramic core varistor. The ceramic consists of the surrounded ZnO grains of melted an additives layer. The layer is origin of the quality of the protection. To enhance the quality and consequently prevent ewaste,the fabrication of the varistor was modeled by artificial neural network. The model predicted theoptimized condition that was experimentally fabricated and electrically characterized. The resultsconfirmed the model predictability. In conclusion, the optimization which has industrial scales uppotential warranties the electronic protection that controls the global e-waste.