National Journal of Community Medicine (Dec 2024)
Evaluating Post-Treatment Quality of Life in Cervical Cancer Patients in Tripura, India
Abstract
Background: In India, cervical cancer (CC) is the most common gynecological cancer. This harms the patient's physical and psychological health, lowering their quality of life (QOL). The study aimed to compare QOL of healthy women and cervical cancer survivors in Tripura, India. Materials and Methods: With a propensity score matching system, this cross-sectional study compared 384 healthy women with 384 cervical cancer survivors. In order to assess sexual functioning and quality of life, we administered three questionnaires: the EORTC QLQ-C30, the EORTC QLQ-CX24 (the cervical cancer module), and the sociodemographic and clinical record form. Result: Cervical cancer patients had a 64.67±2.68 overall quality of life and global health status. We discovered no statistically significant differences in age, education, economic position, marital status, first pregnancy, or residency between cervical cancer survivors and controls (p 0.05). Cervical cancer survivors reported higher lymphoedema scores than healthy women (p = 0.04). The EORTC QLQ-C30 and CX24 showed significant differences in cognitive ability (p = 0.01) and constipation (p = 0.03) between the two groups. Conclusion: Research indicates that many cervical cancer survivors can maintain an acceptable quality of life despite their condition. Chemoradiotherapy significantly impaired the sexual functioning of cc survivors in comparison to a healthy control group.
Keywords