Quality of Life and State of Health for Patients with Cancer in the Head and Neck

Abstract

Quality of life is an important factor for patients with cancer in the head and neck region and this factor has not previously been investigated in such patients. A series of 52 patients with head and neck cancer and 104 control subjects answered a questionnaire including two questions concerning health, one question concerning quality of life and one group of questions covering the health index proposed by Grogono & Woodgate (1971). The control series consisted of subjects of the same age, sex and domiciliary district as each of the cancer patients (two for each patient).

There was a very high correlation between the answers to each of the four questions. The results were evaluated with special reference to patients who reported poor health and a low quality of life and the material was classified into patients with good vs. poor prognosis. There was a very high correlation between poor prognosis and low health indedow qualhy of life.

Among the factors in the Grogono-Woodgate index, ability to work, physical and mental well-being, ability to eat and enjoy food, hobbies and leisure activities, and communication were better among patients with a good vis-ii-vis a poor prognosis. The interval from diagnosis had no effect on the results. Patients with a considerable postoperative handicap reported a comparatively good health status.

Cancer patients with a good prognosis often reported better health than the control subjects, but this difference was only significant for the total Grogono-Woodgate index.

When the control subjects and the cancer patients with a good prognosis were compared, it was found that hobby activities were more appreciated by these cancer patients than by the controls, while the ability to eat and enjoy food was poorer among the cancer patients than among the controls. The cancer patients with a good prognosis might have appreciated various activities more than they did before their cancer was diagnosed.