Abstract
IntroductionCancer is the second leading cause of death globally. Adverse effects of chemotherapy affect physiological and psychological aspects of human life. Self-care practice to manage side effects can improve the quality of life. AimsThe study investigates the relationship between knowledge on the adverse effects of chemotherapy and self-care ability to manage chemotherapy survivors' side effects. Subjects and methodsThis was a single centre, Cross-sectional, descriptive study. A face-to-face interview guided by a structured questionnaire was conducted among 100 cancer patients admitted at the daycare centre to receive repeated chemotherapy cycles. Information gathered included knowledge on chemotherapy and its adverse effects and self-care ability to manage them. ResultsResults indicated 58% had an above-average level of experience on chemotherapy and side effects,16.42 ± 3.56 Vs 8.52 ± 3.37.To overcome hair loss, 77% of patients preferred to use a wig/scarf to cover the head. To reduce nausea and vomiting symptoms, 48% chose to consume less food. Knowledge on side effects of chemotherapy moderate positively related to self-care practices with (r = 0.55,p = 0.001 level), which shows a significant raise on knowledge level will improve their self-care practices. Knowledge of the adverse effects of chemotherapy was not associated with the demographic variables of study participants. ConclusionStudy concluded that it was essential to enhance awareness and overcome adverse chemotherapy effects via counselling services using current modalities for better self-care practices.
Highlights
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally
Self-care ability on the management of adverse effect is well defined as “the individual’s ability to manage the symptoms, treatment, physical and psychosocial consequences, and lifestyle changes inherent in living with a chronic condition.8, )
The data were analysed in SPSS for Windows, version 20.0, using descriptive statistical indices, i.e., mean, median, frequency, percentage and standard deviation and Pearson correlation coefficient( knowledge on adverse effects of chemotherapy versus self-care practice
Summary
Adverse effects of chemotherapy affect physiological and psychological aspects of human life. Self-care practice to manage side effects can improve the quality of life. Aims: The study investigates the relationship between knowledge on the adverse effects of chemotherapy and self-care ability to manage chemotherapy survivors’ side effects. Information gathered included knowledge on chemotherapy and its adverse effects and self-care ability to manage them. Conclusion: Study concluded that it was essential to enhance awareness and overcome adverse chemotherapy effects via counselling services using current modalities for better self-care practices. There are different methods of treatment depending on organ type, stage of cancer, condition of cells. cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Self-care ability on the management of adverse effect is well defined as “the individual’s ability to manage the symptoms, treatment, physical and psychosocial consequences, and lifestyle changes inherent in living with a chronic condition.8, ) Nearly 1 in 6 deaths are happening due to cancer; worldwide, more than 12 million individuals are newly diagnosed with cancer annually. According to ICMR, 885 mortalities occurred due to cancer, and 38,375 incidences of cancer cases were recorded in Odisha in 2014.4 Chemotherapy is a standard modality of cancer treatment that uses chemical agents or drugs to destroy cancer cells in the cell cycles or use chemicals or drugs to inhibit cancerous cells’ growth and spread. Chemotherapy is a vital treatment modality for many cancers, and evolving new anti-cancer drugs represents one of the largest pharma ceutical development areas, Chemotherapy has its own merits and demerits as the treatment affects both physiological and psychological aspects of human life. i.e., pain, sleep disturbances, nausea, vomiting, stress, anxiety, gastrointestinal disorders etc. Cancer is being recog nised as a chronic illness; self-management has been identified as inte gral to person-centred cancer care. Self-care ability on the management of adverse effect is well defined as “the individual’s ability to manage the symptoms, treatment, physical and psychosocial consequences, and lifestyle changes inherent in living with a chronic condition.8, )
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