Concerns, coping and quality of life in head and neck cancer patients

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore the concerns and coping mechanisms used by patients with head and neck cancer and assess their quality of life. A group of 50 consecutive patients with oral and laryngeal cancers were interviewed using a coping and concerns checklist and a semistructured interview proforma to elicit the common concerns in relation to head and neck cancers and their surgical treatment. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to detect anxiety and depression. Concerns were compared between oral and laryngeal cancers and between preoperative and postoperative patients. Commonest concerns were about the future (64%), subjective physical evaluation (60%), finances (56%), being upset (54%), communication (54%), current illness (52%) and inability to do things (50%). The commonest coping mechanisms used were helplessness and fatalism. Resolution was noted in less than 40% of the frequent concerns. As compared to laryngeal cancer patients, those with oral cancer significantly more often had concerns about current illness, subjective evaluation of health, eating and chewing, social interactions, pain and disfigurement (P < 0.05). Most subjects had numerous unresolved concerns. Mainly ineffective coping mechanisms such as helplessness and fatalism were employed leading to incomplete resolution. Interventions to minimise these concerns and to handle associated anxiety and depression would improve their quality of life.

Quality of life and home enteral tube feeding: a French prospective study in patients with head and neck or oesophageal cancer

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“…Psychological distress has been correlated with lower quality of life [3,4,54,58], a desire to hasten death [5], and caregiver distress [30,50,57], as well as increased health-care utilization [15,22,33] and shorter survival [19,35,52]. Cancer patients with unresolved concerns are more distressed than those whose concerns are resolved [7,18,26,38]. The way oncologists communicate impacts patients' disclosure of concerns and their distress associated with such concerns.…”

Psychological characteristics versus swallowing and speech rehabilitation efficiency in patients after oral cavity cancer excision

“…Po zabiegu operacyjnym w różnym stopniu doświadczają deficytów funkcjonalnych w zakresie oddychania, żucia, połykania i mowy, a także trudności psychologicznych i społecznych związanych z niepeł-nosprawnością oraz zmienionym wyglądem twarzy [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Często towarzyszy temu lęk przed nawrotem choroby [7].…”

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