Characteristics and evaluation of quality of life in a group of patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment

publicado em 16 07 2011

Authors:Ferreira, E., Saço, L.F., Lessa, C., Paula, O.R.

Institution:Universidade federal de Juiz de Fora

Department: de fundamentos

Country: Brazil

Abstract text

Introduction Life’s quality is a wide concept which includes the individual’s perspective in relation to their objectives, their satisfactions and their concerns. The identification of quality of life of the oncologic patient, currently, is a fundamental source to measure the results of the treatment in the patient’s perspective. His/her assessment allows the understanding of how different therapeutic interventions influence the patients’ results (NICOLUSSI, 2010). Therefore, the goal of this research was to evaluate the quality of life of a patients’ group with neoplasic disturbances neoplasms who are undergoing a chemotherapy treatment in Ascomcer Hospital, located at Juiz de Fora city. Methodology This study has as bases the traversal descriptive analysis of people with cancer who undergo a chemotherapy treatment. There were interviewed 40 patients of both sexes and who were starting their second chemotherapy session. The interview was executed through the questionnaire of life quality ’SF36.’ Results We observed the female predominance in relation to the male, being the average age 57,4 years old. The breast cancer was the most frequent, attacking 60% of the patients, and soon afterwards the colorretal cancer, representing 17,5%. The Functional Capacity was the item that obtained the larger index, 69,9% and in relation to the gender it obtained the result more significant taking into account the statistics . The Practice of Physical Activity was about four times bigger in women than in men considered in this study. This result can be related directly to the functional capacity variables, general health state, vitality, social aspects and mental health, because in these the scores found obtained higher medium between the adult women in relation to adult men. Conclusion That investigation was able to show that the aspects regarding the multiple dimension and to subjectivity, presented in the concept of Life Quality and represented by their respective domains, can be taken as the north because of the progress of the therapeutic possibilities and also because of the improvement in the prognostics for the cancer treatment. References CICONELLI, R. M. et al.Translation for the Portuguese language and validation of the generic questionnaire of evaluation of life quality SF36. Brazilian magazine of Rheumatology.

MORRIS, G. S. et al. Pulmonary rehabilitation improves functional status in oncology patients. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Nashville, v. 90, in the. 5, p. 837-841 2009. NICOLUSSI, THE. C.; SAWADA, N. THE. Factors that influence the quality of patients’ life with colon cancer and straight. Acta From São Paulo of Nursing, Ribeirão Preto, v. 23, n. 1, p. 125-130 2010.

Topic: Health and Fitness
Keyword I: Neoplasms
Keyword II: Quality of life
Keyword III: Gender and health