Author:
Mvunta David H.,August Furaha,Dharsee Nazima,Mvunta Miriam H.,Wangwe Peter,Ngarina Matilda,Simba Brenda M.,Kidanto Hussein
Abstract
Abstract
Objective
Effective cancer treatment involves aggressive chemo-radiotherapy protocols that alter survivors’ quality of life (QOL). This has recently aroused the attention not only to focus on clinical care but rather to be holistic and client-centered, looking beyond morbidity and mortality. The study assessed the QOL and associated factors among patients with cervical cancer (CC) after the completion of chemoradiotherapy.
Methods
A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) from September to November 2020. A total of 323 CC patients were interviewed with a structured questionnaire of QOL, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), and its cervical cancer module (EORTC QLQ-CX24). The QOL domains, socio-demographic and clinical variables were analyzed with Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis on SPSS version 23, and a P < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results
More than half (54.8%) of the CC patients had a good overall QOL. Overall, QOL was affected by education (P = 0.019), smoking (0.044), sexual partner (P = 0.000), treatment modality (P = 0.018), and time since completion of treatment (P = 0.021). Patients who underwent external beam radiation suffered from significant side effect symptoms (P < 0.05) while those who underwent combined external beam radiation and brachytherapy had higher functioning in most domains (P < 0.05).
Conclusions
A significant improvement in QOL was observed after chemoradiotherapy and was affected by socio-demographic and clinical variables. Thus, calls for individualized care in addressing these distressing symptoms.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Obstetrics and Gynecology,Reproductive Medicine,General Medicine
Cited by
6 articles.
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