Investigation of physical activity and fatigue levels of individuals with different cancer types and caring family members

This study was planned to investigate the physical activity and fatigue levels of individuals with different types of cancer and caring family members. A total of 360 individuals, 180 patients (70 males, 110 females) who were diagnosed with different types of stage 3 cancer and 180 caregivers (86 males, 94 females), were included in the study. The patients and caregivers were divided into three groups: colon, breast, lung. The mean age of cancer patients was 52,66 years and the mean age of caregivers was 42,78 years. The patients and their caregivers were applied to IPAQ-International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short form) and Piper Fatigue Scale, EORTC-QLQ-30 and SF-36 quality of life scales and identification surveys. The responses to fatigue were moderate in the patient group and mild to moderate in the caregivers group. It has appeared that the activity level of the patients and their caregivers are minimally active. The diagnosis of cancer had an effect on physical activity and fatigue in the patient group (p<0,05).The diagnosis of cancer had an effect on fatigue (p<0,05) and no effect on physical activity levels in the caregivers group (p>0,05). According to the results of the study, it has been noted that patients as well as caregivers were affected by the process and that health workers can benefit from integrated approaches including their families.