Cancer Management and Research (Mar 2021)
Improving Social Support to Increase QoL in Lung Cancer Patients
Abstract
Adriana Hofman,1 Natalia Zajdel,1 Jakub Klekowski,1 Mariusz Chabowski2,3 1Student Research Group No 180, Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland; 2Division of Oncology and Palliative Care, Department of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Poland; 3Department of Surgery, 4th Military Teaching Hospital, Wrocław, PolandCorrespondence: Mariusz ChabowskiDepartment of Surgery, 4th Military Teaching Hospital, 5 Weigla Street, Wroclaw, 50-981, PolandTel +48 261 660 247Fax +48 261 660 245Email [email protected]: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in the world. According to the World Health Organization, over 2 million new lung cancer cases were reported worldwide in 2018, and there were 1.76 million deaths from the disease. Due to its non-specific symptoms, the disease is usually detected at an advanced stage, which gives few treatment options and a short survival rate after diagnosis. That is why improving QoL in the last months of a patient’s life is enormously important. The purpose of this study was to analyse original papers in order to determine whether an increase in social support is important in improving QoL for lung cancer patients. Both the direct influence of social support on QoL and indirect influences such as stigma or depression, etc. were taken into consideration. We conducted a review of 22 papers published in English in the period 2005– 2020, which were selected using the following keywords: lung cancer, social support, quality of life. Evidence was found for the connections between the improvement of social support and an increase in the QoL of lung cancer patients. It is crucial, and worth whatever effort is required, to increase social support for lung cancer patients, as it is one of the most important factors in improving QoL. According to the studies, a good QoL and minimalised symptoms of the disease are much more important for lung cancer patients than the length of their life.Keywords: quality of life, lung cancer, social support, stigma, depression
