Quality of Life of Patients Undergoing Surgical Treatment for Newly-Diagnosed, Clinically Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

This investigation sought to evaluate the psychological needs of individuals (N = 28) undergoing nephrectomy for newly diagnosed, localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) using a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach. The qualitative component consisted of individual semi-structured interviews ≥4 weeks postnephrectomy. The quantitative component involved standardized measures assessing anxiety, depressive symptoms, psychological distress, and general and disease specific quality of life (QOL) prior to nephrectomy and at 4, 12, and 24 weeks postnephrectomy. This investigation provides a unique view of the experiences and needs of persons undergoing surgery for newly diagnosed, localized RCC and reveals that these individuals experience fatigue, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.

KEYWORDS:

• cancer
• oncology
• renal cell carcinoma
• quality of life

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Florida Department of Health James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program. The authors of this work have no competing interests to report. The authors wish to acknowledge Edgar Covil and Michelle Arnold, for their assistance with completing this investigation.