Wal, N.R. van der (Nynke) (2018) Klachten in relatie tot de kwaliteit van leven bij patiënten met hoofd- halskanker die in de palliatieve fase zitten. thesis, Dentistry.
Full text available on request.Abstract
Introduction Head- and neck cancer is the sixth most frequent type of cancer worldwide and is diagnosed more than 3000 times in The Netherlands every year. Approximately a quarter of all the head�and neck cancer patients will end up in a palliative trajectory. 5,6 Therapy in the palliative trajectory is mainly focused on symptom management. Moreover, palliative therapy is mainly focused on improvement of the Quality of Life. 11 Especially by palliative therapy the advantages must be weighed against disadvantages of treatment, as morbidity and hospitalization. In the past, some research has been done by the UMCG about the symptoms that occur in the palliative trajectory. However, psychosocial complaints were not included in this study. Additionally, the impact of the symptoms on the Quality of Life has not been proved. 1 To get a larger clinical relevance than the study described above, it has been inventoried which complaints and symptoms have the biggest impact on the Quality of Life of head- and neck cancer patients. Material and methods Patients with head- and neck cancer in the palliative trajectory have been interviewed about their psychosocial complaints and symptoms. They were also asked about the impact of their complaints and symptoms on their Quality of Life. To verify the information given in the interview, the patients were asked to fill in a Quality of Life questionnaire, the EORTC-QLQ C30 + H&N35 and a distress thermometer. Results Fatigue had the biggest impact on the patients their Quality of Life. The head- and neck cancer specific symptoms with the biggest impact on the Quality of Life were speech and nutrition problems. Discussion The questionnaires about the Quality of Life seemed to be a good indicator to verify whether all the complaints and symptoms were discussed during the interviews. However, the patients were relatively fit, so it’s not certain if this group was a good reflection of all patients with head- and neck cancer in the palliative trajectory. Besides that, the group was too small to conclude anything about the given information, since no data saturation was reached.26 Conclusion This research gives doctors more information about the symptoms and psychological complaints of patients with head- and neck cancer in the palliative trajectory. More research is needed to make a correct statement about the complaints and symptoms with the biggest impact on the Quality of Life.
| Item Type: | Thesis (UNSPECIFIED) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Roodenburg, prof. dr. J.L.N. and Dijkstra, prof. dr. P.U. |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Nov 2021 13:37 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Nov 2021 13:37 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2840 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |