Quality of life and functional status in patients with advanced cancer admitted to hospice home care in Malaysia: A cross-sectional study

摘要

Cancer patients more than often experience poor quality of life after diagnosis and treatment of cancer. As the disease progresses quality of life issues become important. This cross-sectional study assessed various features of quality of life among 61 (33 women and 28 men) patients with advanced cancer cared by selected hospices in Peninsular Malaysia. The Hospice Quality of Life Index was used to assess quality of life. The mean total Hospice Quality of Life Index score for all subjects was 189.9 ± 51.7. The possible scores range from 0 to 280. The most problem areas in these patients were in the domain of functional well-being, followed by psychophysiological and social/spiritual domain. Patients with advanced cancer have a diminished quality of life. These findings suggest that there is a need for improving quality of life in terminally ill cancer patients in hospice care.