SYMPTOMS AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH CANCER IN PRE-CHEMOTHERAPY

Abstract

Cancer is a global public health problem, and chemotherapy treatment can cause side effects and physical symptoms that may compromise nutritional status and quality of life. The study objective was to identify the physical symptoms and quality of life of individuals with neoplasms before they started antineoplastic treatment. It is a cross-sectional study carried out with non-probabilistic sampling for convenience. Patients with neoplasms were recruited from the Chemotherapy Outpatient Clinic of the General Public Hospital of Palmas – TO in the day of their first appointment. A total of 38 patients met the inclusion criteria. A Socioeconomic Questionnaire, the Whoquol-Bref Questionnaire (1993) and the PG-SGA filled in by the patient were used for data collection. The most frequent physical symptoms presented before starting treatment were pain (55.3%) and fatigue (31.6%). In the results of the WHOQOL-bref referring to the perspective of quality of life, there was greater impairment in the physical domain. According to the PG-SGA, 65.8% of the patients were as well-nourished and 31.6% with suspected malnutrition or moderate malnutrition. This study showed an outline of nutritional status and quality of life of these patients with cancer before starting chemotherapy. It also brought useful data to promote future health strategies and better nutritional support during treatment.