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Nursing Reports
Special Issues
Quality of Life in Cancer Patients
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Quality of Life in Cancer Patients

A special issue of Nursing Reports (ISSN 2039-4403).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 34188

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Lavdaniti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nursing, International Hellenic University, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: cancer nursing; radiotherapy and cancer; inmmunotherapy and cancer; breast cancer; lung cancer; cancer and diabetes
Dr. Sofia Zyga

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Nursing Department, School of Health, University of the Peloponnese, 221 00 Tripoli, Greece
Interests: health; quality of life; kindey disease; health promotion; hemodialysis; cancer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Cancer and its treatment cause many complications, with a detrimental effect on quality of life and a significant influence on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in general.

Quality of life is an issue investigated by many researchers, some of whom have analyzed this issue during chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other treatments, such as bone marrow transplants. Other researchers have referred to quality of life in specific types of cancer (breast, lung, prostate, etc.). Quality of life refers to a person’s perception of their physical, emotional and social status. The quality of life of cancer patients is influenced by the disease itself and/or its treatment. Physical problems, such as diarrhea, constipation and fatigue, as well as emotional stress, economic difficulties and treatment modalities, affect quality of life.

Quality of life is an important aspect of nursing care in the clinical setting with oncology patients. As a concept, it fits in well with nursing goals. Nurses must assess patients and their caregivers, and plan their care based on their needs. One of the goals of nurses is to improve quality of life, because, in this way, nurses can help patients to achieve rehabilitation. Although the issue of quality of life is well documented, there is still a need to develop interventions that offer support to patients and their families.

Dr. Maria Lavdaniti
Dr. Sofia Zyga
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nursing Reports is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • quality of life
  • cancer
  • patients
  • family
  • depression
  • resilience
  • health
  • caregivers

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 521 KiB  
Article
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Impact on Patients’ Perceived Quality of Life: A Longitudinal Study
by Pablo Ortolá-Alonso, Enric Santacatalina-Roig, Elena Chover-Sierra, Antoni Merelles-Tormo, María Luisa Ballestar-Tarín and Antonio Martínez-Sabater
Nurs. Rep. 2024, 14(1), 197-211; https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep14010016 - 18 Jan 2024
Viewed by 676
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the quality of life of adult patients with onco-hematological disease treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation up to two years post-transplantation. Method: A quantitative, observational, longitudinal, and analytical study was conducted with 121 participants [...] Read more.
Objective: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the quality of life of adult patients with onco-hematological disease treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation up to two years post-transplantation. Method: A quantitative, observational, longitudinal, and analytical study was conducted with 121 participants diagnosed with onco-hematological cancer who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation between October 2017 and September 2019, with a 2-year post-transplantation follow-up, of whom only 39 completed the study. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy—Bone Marrow Transplantation (FACT-BMT) questionnaire and its subscales, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy—General (FACT-BMT) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Trial Outcome Index (FACT-TOI), developed by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) and validated for Spain, were used to assess quality of life. Result: The average age for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was 54 years, with a majority of male participants. The evaluation of quality of life showed a decrease at the time of hospital discharge, followed by a progressive improvement up to one year after the transplantation. There was a significant difference in the quality of life questionnaire scores between both sexes during all stages of the research, with higher scores in male participants. The length of hospital stay significantly affected patients’ physical and functional well-being, and marital status was related to differences in the perception of quality of life. Conclusions: Despite the initial decrease in quality of life for patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, levels of quality of life similar to baseline are regained one year after the transplantation. Sociodemographic variables are related to how these patients perceive their quality of life. However, further studies with a larger sample size are needed for more precise results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality of Life in Cancer Patients)
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11 pages, 264 KiB  
Article
Lipid Disturbances in Breast Cancer Patients during Chemotherapy
by Aikaterini Alimperti, Victoria Alikari, Maria Tsironi, Andrea Paola Rojas Gil, Dimitrios Papageorgiou, Petros Kolovos, Aspasia Panagiotou, George I. Panoutsopoulos, Maria Lavdaniti and Sofia Zyga
Nurs. Rep. 2023, 13(4), 1500-1510; https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13040126 - 25 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1040
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Cardiovascular diseases are common complications after chemotherapy due to the effect of the drug on lipid levels. This study aimed to explore the changes in lipid profiles in patients with breast cancer under chemotherapy. [...] Read more.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Cardiovascular diseases are common complications after chemotherapy due to the effect of the drug on lipid levels. This study aimed to explore the changes in lipid profiles in patients with breast cancer under chemotherapy. Methods: In this prospective study, 50 patients with breast cancer participated. Three biochemical–lipid hematological tests were performed: total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL-C), and Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL-C) before initiation (pre-chemotherapy), at the start (first follow-up), and at the completion (second follow-up) of the first cycle of chemotherapy. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Analyses were conducted using SPSS Statistical Software (version 22.0). Results: Mean TC values increased significantly at second follow-up. TGs values decreased significantly from first to second follow-up. HDL-C was significantly lower at first follow-up compared with pre-chemotherapy and was similar to the pre-chemotherapy levels at second follow-up. LDL-C values were significantly higher at second follow-up compared with pre-chemotherapy measurement. Significantly positive correlations of BMI with pre-chemotherapy LDL-C, first follow-up TC, first follow-up LDL-C, second follow-up TC, and second follow-up LDL-C were found. Conclusions: There is a statistically significant increase in the levels of TC and LDL-C in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy. This study was not registered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality of Life in Cancer Patients)
11 pages, 612 KiB  
Article
Quality of Life of Polish Patients with Lymphoma Treated Systemically
by Małgorzata Pasek, Janina Biel, Anna Goździalska and Małgorzata Jochymek
Nurs. Rep. 2023, 13(4), 1421-1431; https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13040119 - 09 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1084
Abstract
Research on the quality of life has become of great importance. It is used by clinical researchers to compare the impact of treatment regimens on patients. The choice of treatment method may significantly depend on the patient’s opinion. A cross-sectional study was conducted [...] Read more.
Research on the quality of life has become of great importance. It is used by clinical researchers to compare the impact of treatment regimens on patients. The choice of treatment method may significantly depend on the patient’s opinion. A cross-sectional study was conducted using the method of a diagnostic questionnaire survey. The research tools were the authors’ questionnaire and the standardized WHOQOL-BREF. The study was conducted among patients with lymphoma, treated systemically. More than half of the surveyed patients assessed their overall quality of life as good (50%) and very good (6%), while the expressed satisfaction with health most often ranged from neutral (38%—neither good nor bad) to dissatisfactory (30%) and very dissatisfactory (6%). As regards the detailed domains, the area of physical functioning was rated the lowest, while for the remaining domains—psychological, social, environmental—values above average (60.38–64.30) were observed. Social support, particularly from the immediate family, resulted in a higher assessment of the quality of life. The occurrence of side effects related to anticancer treatment and the disease had a statistically significant impact on the decrease in the quality of life, particularly in the physical domain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality of Life in Cancer Patients)
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10 pages, 283 KiB  
Article
Contributions of a Rehabilitation Nursing Program in the Self-Care of Women Undergoing Breast Surgery
by Tânia Rodrigues, Maria Teresa Moreira, Andreia Lima, Rita Fernandes and Bárbara Gomes
Nurs. Rep. 2023, 13(2), 913-922; https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13020080 - 15 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1627
Abstract
Background: Although surgical treatments for breast cancer have exhibited advanced interventions, axillary lymph node dissection can limit functionality and compromise women’s self-care. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a rehabilitation nursing program in improving self-care performance in women undergoing breast surgery [...] Read more.
Background: Although surgical treatments for breast cancer have exhibited advanced interventions, axillary lymph node dissection can limit functionality and compromise women’s self-care. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a rehabilitation nursing program in improving self-care performance in women undergoing breast surgery with axillary lymph node dissection. Methods: This quantitative, quasi-experimental study involved 48 women recruited from a main hospital between 2018 and 2019. The participants completed a three-month rehabilitation program at home. The evaluation instrument used was the DASH questionnaire. This study was not registered. Results: The functionality of the upper limb ipsilateral to the surgery improved significantly (p < 0.001) after the implementation of the program, influencing the participants’ capacity for self-care, including washing/drying their hair, washing their back, and wearing a shirt. The average DASH total score increased from 54.4 to 8.1 after the program. Conclusions: The rehabilitation nursing program positively influenced the participants’ self-care ability. Incorporating rehabilitation nursing programs into breast cancer treatment can improve self-care performance and the overall quality of patients’ lives. This study was not registered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality of Life in Cancer Patients)
12 pages, 1261 KiB  
Article
Outcome of Ivermectin in Cancer Treatment: An Experience in Loja-Ecuador
by Yuliana Jiménez-Gaona, Oscar Vivanco-Galván, Gonzalo Morales-Larreategui, Andrea Cabrera-Bejarano and Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan
Nurs. Rep. 2023, 13(1), 315-326; https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13010030 - 22 Feb 2023
Viewed by 28866
Abstract
(1) Background: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and trends in cancer incidence and mortality are increasing over last years in Loja-Ecuador. Cancer treatment is expensive because of social and economic issues which force the patients to look for [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and trends in cancer incidence and mortality are increasing over last years in Loja-Ecuador. Cancer treatment is expensive because of social and economic issues which force the patients to look for other alternatives. One such alternative treatment is ivermectin-based antiparasitic, which is commonly used in treating cattle. This paper analyzed ivermectin use as cancer treatment in the rural area of the Loja province and the medical opinion regarding the use of ivermectin in humans. (2) Methods: The study used a mixed methodology using different sampling techniques such as observation, surveys, and interviews. (3) Results: The main findings show that 19% of the participants diagnosed with cancer take medicines based on ivermectin as alternative therapy to the cancer control and treatment without leaving treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or immunotherapy, while 81% use it to treat other diseases. (4) Conclusions: Finally, we identify that the interviewed not only use IVM as anticancer treatment, but it is also used as a treatment against other diseases. Although the participants’ opinions indicate that they feel improvements in their health after the third dose, the specialist considers that there is no authorization to prescribe these alternative treatments. In addition, they confirmed that currently, there is no scientific knowledge about the application of these treatments in humans and they do not recommend their application. Thus, the anticancer mechanism of ivermectin remains to be further investigated; therefore, we consider that it is important to continue with this research by proposing a new stage to evaluate and determine the pharmacological action of this type of drug through an in vitro study in different cultures of cancer cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality of Life in Cancer Patients)
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