TY - JOUR
T1 - Quality of life assessment in postoperative patients with upper GI malignancies
AU - Schubart, Jane R.
AU - Wise, James
AU - Deshaies, Isabelle
AU - Kimchi, Eric T.
AU - Staveley-O'carroll, Kevin F.
AU - Gusani, Niraj J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Normative data in a cross-section of adult U.S. cancer patients for the FACT-G has been published by the authors of the FACIT measurement system . The normative FACT-G sample data combined data sets from two previous validation studies, funded by the National Institutes of Health, of the FACT measurement system. Data were collected from adult patients located in six cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Toledo, and San Juan, Puerto Rico), in both public care and private care settings. Cancer diagnoses in the first study included breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, head/neck cancer. All cancer diagnoses were included in the second study. All participants had a life expectancy of at least 3 mo. [13] and is shown in Table 5
PY - 2010/9
Y1 - 2010/9
N2 - Background: By current estimates there are more than 10.8 million cancer survivors in the United States. Increasingly, oncologists are realizing that despite the "success" of cancer therapies, cancer survivors are facing previously unrecognized psychosocial issues related to cancer survivorship. In GI cancers, the medical and surgical oncologists charged with the care of the patient are not well-equipped to deal with these issues. At our institution's GI Cancer Survivorship Clinic, we utilize a multi-disciplinary model, led by surgical oncologists, that includes psychologic and pastoral support as a priority. The goal of this study was to assess our patients' quality of life (QOL) in order to better understand their survivorship needs and to optimize survivor care. Materials and Methods: Patients with upper GI malignancies undergoing post-treatment evaluation completed the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality Scale (FACIT-Sp) questionnaire that includes five domains of QOL: physical well being; social/family well being; emotional well being; functional well being; and spiritual well being. Results: The results of our evaluation of health related QOL in a sample of 99 patients revealed higher self-reported QOL than those seen in a normative sample of cancer patients. Social/family well being was strongly associated with total QOL scores, and married patients reported higher social/family well being, as well as higher overall QOL. Conclusions: Cross-sectional evaluation of health related QOL in our patients revealed higher self-reported QOL than those seen in a normative sample of general cancer patients. Despite aggressive surgical and medical treatment for malignancies with a generally poor prognosis, the results of our pilot study suggest that cancer survivors treated and followed in a multidisciplinary setting can experience acceptable health-related QOL.
AB - Background: By current estimates there are more than 10.8 million cancer survivors in the United States. Increasingly, oncologists are realizing that despite the "success" of cancer therapies, cancer survivors are facing previously unrecognized psychosocial issues related to cancer survivorship. In GI cancers, the medical and surgical oncologists charged with the care of the patient are not well-equipped to deal with these issues. At our institution's GI Cancer Survivorship Clinic, we utilize a multi-disciplinary model, led by surgical oncologists, that includes psychologic and pastoral support as a priority. The goal of this study was to assess our patients' quality of life (QOL) in order to better understand their survivorship needs and to optimize survivor care. Materials and Methods: Patients with upper GI malignancies undergoing post-treatment evaluation completed the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality Scale (FACIT-Sp) questionnaire that includes five domains of QOL: physical well being; social/family well being; emotional well being; functional well being; and spiritual well being. Results: The results of our evaluation of health related QOL in a sample of 99 patients revealed higher self-reported QOL than those seen in a normative sample of cancer patients. Social/family well being was strongly associated with total QOL scores, and married patients reported higher social/family well being, as well as higher overall QOL. Conclusions: Cross-sectional evaluation of health related QOL in our patients revealed higher self-reported QOL than those seen in a normative sample of general cancer patients. Despite aggressive surgical and medical treatment for malignancies with a generally poor prognosis, the results of our pilot study suggest that cancer survivors treated and followed in a multidisciplinary setting can experience acceptable health-related QOL.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jss.2010.04.057
DO - 10.1016/j.jss.2010.04.057
M3 - Article
C2 - 20638690
AN - SCOPUS:77955920989
SN - 0022-4804
VL - 163
SP - 40
EP - 46
JO - Journal of Surgical Research
JF - Journal of Surgical Research
IS - 1
ER -
