QoL of colorectal cancer stoma patients at the Philippine General Hospital - Cancer Institute
- Author:
Corazon Ngelangel
;
Sherry Athena Ruste
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:
Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine
2011;49(1):38-42
- CountryPhilippines
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Introduction: Colorectal cancer is a common malignancy. Emotional, social, financial difficulties and physical symptoms due to disease and treatment impair the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients. This study assesses the over-all QoL of colorectal cancer stoma patients at the Cancer Institute, Philippine General Hospital (PGH-CI). Method: This is a cross-sectional study. Patients at the medical oncology inpatient/ outpatient charity clinic of the PGH-CI who underwent surgical resection and colostomy, and upon full consent, answered a 33-item QoL scale questionnaire (English/Filipino) covering 5 subset s : physical wellness , emotional wellness ,socioeconomic status, cognitive ability and self-care. Sociodemographic data were gathered from medical records and interview. Data analysis was done using STATA v6. Results: One hundred seventeen patients answered the University of the Philippines-Department of Health (UPDOH) QoL questionnaire (100% response rate). Majority were males (69%), married (79%), with rectal cancer (59%), stage IIB (36%), aged 41-50 yrs. old (26%). Twenty-eight percent were employed in sales/ service but 91% were unemployed at the time of study. All patients underwent surgery and colostomy, 36% chemotherapy alone and 16% chemoradiotherapy. Overall, QoL was high for physical, social and cognitive dimensions . Emotional and self - care dimensions were moderate. Males had high over-all QoL versus moderate among females, especially cognitive dimension. Colorectal cancer patients reported moderate over-all QOL with all dimensions having similar scores. Patients with cancer of 6-12 months and >12 months exhibited high over-all QoL scores while those with cancer of <6 months had moderate over-all QoL scores, reflected in physical, emotional and cognitive dimensions. Conclusion: Colorectal cancer patients at the PGH-CI have high quality of life. Patients with early and locally advanced disease had better QoL, regardless of tumor site and sex. Patients with longer disease duration scored higher in over-all QoL, physical, emotional and self-care dimensions.
