Comparison of the quality of life among persons with lung cancer, before and after the chemotherapy treatment.
Palavras-chave
Resumo
OBJECTIVE
this prospective study aimed to assess the quality of life related to health (QLRH) of patients with lung cancer after chemotherapy treatment.
METHODS
The QLRH was assessed using the questionnaires Quality-of-Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and Lung Cancer Module (LC13), version 3.0.
RESULTS
the sample was made up of 11 women and 19 men, with an average age of 68 years (51-87 years). After the chemotherapy treatment, the authors observed a clinically-relevant improvement in general quality of life, as well as in the symptoms of dyspnea, insomnia, hemoptysis, cough, thoracic pain, pain in the arm/shoulder, and financial difficulty. There was a worsening on the functional scale which assesses role performance and symptoms of fatigue, nausea and vomiting, sensory neuropathy, pain in other parts, constipation, loss of appetite and alopecia.
CONCLUSIONS
although the patients have an improvement of their QLRH and symptoms related to the lung cancer after the chemotherapy treatment, there was a worsening of the symptoms which resulted from the toxicity of the chemotherapy medications.
