A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Cancer Related Fatigue and Quality of Life in Patients with Advanced Prostate Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy




AuthorsAndreas Charalambous, Christiana Kouta

PublisherHindawi

Publication year2016

JournalBioMed Research International

Volume2016

Number of pages11

ISSN2314-6133

eISSN2314-6141

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1155/2016/3989286

Web address https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2016/3989286/

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/Publication/29642942


Abstract

Cancer related fatigue (CRF) is a common and debilitating symptom that can influence quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients. The increase in survival times stresses for a better understanding of how CRF affects patients’ QoL. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study with 148 randomly recruited prostate cancer patients aiming to explore CRF and its impact on QoL. Assessments included the Cancer Fatigue Scale, EORTC QLQ-C30, and EORTC QLQ-PR25. Additionally, 15 in-depth structured interviews were performed. Quantitative data were analyzed with simple and multiple regression analysis and independent samples -test. Qualitative data were analyzed with the use of thematic content analysis. The 66.9% of the patients experienced CRF with higher levels being recorded for the affective subscale. Statistically significant differences were found between the patients reporting CRF and lower levels of QoL (mean = 49.1) and those that did not report fatigue and had higher levels of QoL (mean = 72.1). The interviews emphasized CRF’s profound impact on the patients’ lives that was reflected on the following themes: “dependency on others,” “loss of power over decision making,” and “daily living disruption.” Cancer related fatigue is a significant problem for patients with advanced prostate cancer and one that affects their QoL in various ways.


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