Study leader Dr. Gary Freedman of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia said women treated for breast cancer by lumpectomy and radiation had a quality of life comparable to that a general sampling of the adult women U.S. population.

"Treatments for breast cancer may decrease quality of life temporarily, but this is evidence that survivors on average will return to a normal quality of life," Freedman told the 50th annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Boston.

The study included women with early stage breast cancer treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiation, with or without chemotherapy and hormone therapy. During routine follow-up visits with their oncologists, the women were asked to complete a brief questionnaire.

Of the 1,050 women surveyed, 32 percent submitted one survey, 29 percent submitted two, 21 percent submitted three and 18 percent submitted four or more surveys from 3 months to 15 years after treatment.

"The data appear to show breast cancer survivors have a very high quality of life when compared to the general population," Freedman said.