Knowledge of Skincare and Quality of Life of Cancer Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy

Abstract

Cancer is a disease in which cells proliferate abnormally. Approximately 60% of patients with cancer receive radiation therapy as a part of their treatment. Projections show that cancer cases in India (2010–2020) are likely to go up from 979,786 cases within the year 2010 to 1,148,757 cases in the year 2020. The study aimed to assess the knowledge of skincare and quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients receiving radiation therapy. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive design amongst 123 cancer patients recruited by simple random technique. Knowledge questionnaire assessing skincare and WHOQOL-BREF scales were used to collect data. An informational pamphlet on skincare for cancer patients receiving radiation therapy was distributed after the study completion. Majority of the patients (31.7%) belonged to the age group of 46–55 years and 29.3% were with a primary level of education. Amongst the participated patients, most (43.1%) had received radiation therapy for <11 days, 61.8% used Ayurveda treatment and 48.8% were diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancers. Most (48.0%) received radiation on the head and neck and more than half of the patients (58.5%) were taking chemotherapy along with radiation therapy. The study also found that 55.28% of patients had a good level of knowledge and 52.84% had satisfactory level of QOL. The study concluded that over half the proportion of the cancer patients receiving radiation therapy had some knowledge on skincare and had satisfactory QOL. Thus, we strongly recommend strategies towards the development and implementation of interventions for skincare to improve the QOL.