Quality of Life in Gynecological Cancer Patients During Chemotherapy

Purpose: This study was to measure the quality of life(QOL) and to identify the related factors in gynecological cancer patients during chemotherapy. Method: The subjects of this study were the patients who had undergone a hysterectomy and were admitted for chemotherapy at S university hospital between November 2006 and April 2007. Data was collected from 106 gynecological cancer patients with the use of a structured questionnaire which measured the QOL(FACT-G), body image, the presence of anxiety & depression, uncertainty, and family support. The data was analyzed by the SPSS win 12.0 program. Results: The mean FACT-total score was 62.1(+/-16.7) (range; 26-107). Positive correlations were found between QOL and body image(r= .67, p= .00), and QOL and family support(r= .32, p= .00), whereas there were negative correlations between QOL and anxiety(r= -.54, p= .00), QOL and depression(r= -.70, p= .00), and QOL and uncertainty(r= -.59, p= .00). Fifty seven precent of the variance in subjective overall QOL can be explained by depression, body image, and uncertainty(Adj R2= .57, F=47.00, p= .00). Conclusion: Our patients had a relatively low QOL score. Factors significantly affecting quality of life were depression, body image and uncertainty. Nursing interventions, therefore, should be focused on improving QOL in gynecological cancer patients during chemotherapy, particularly so in patients with depression, uncertainty or poor body image