QUALITY OF LIFE OF CANCER PATIENTS BEFORE ANTINEOPLASTIC THERAPY FOR HAND AND NECK X THYREOID TUMORS

Objective: Quality of life (QoL) is an indicator to evaluate effectiveness, efficiency and impact of certain treatments to control health problems. This study assessed QoL of patients with head/neck and thyroid cancer, submitted to radioisotopes treatment, assisted at IMOAB (Instituto Maranhense de Oncologia Aldenora Bello), by University of Washington QoL questionnaire - UW-QOL. Methods: The chi-square test identified significant differences between frequencies observed in qualitative variables and t test compared UW-QOL questionnaire mean scores between head/neck (n= 41) and thyroid cancer groups (n=53). Results: Radiotherapy patients (head/neck cancer group) believe the quality of their lives before disease was much better (53.6%). While patients treated with radioiodine therapy (thyroid cancer groups) (32.1%) rated QoL before cancer as a little better than the current (32.1%), with differences between groups (p<0.05). Among patients treated with radioiodine the average score was 916.3 ± 18.5, statistically higher than scores of patients treated with radiotherapy, which was 809.0 ± 27.0 (p=0.0248, T=2333, GL=40). Conclusions: Both patients had suffered major changes in anxiety, swallowing and pain episodes. It concluded that radioiodine patients had higher mean UW-QOL scores and better QoL than patients treated with radiation therapy.