Functional state of chemotherapy and the effect of chemotherapy on life quality

Aim of this work is to determine the functional status of cancer patients who received chemotherapy treatment and the effect of chemotherapy on the quality of life, between March and June 2017, the patients were referred to the Gaziantep oncology hospital. 305 cancer patients who determined the power analysis were included in the study. Questionnaire based on literatüre, Quality of Life Scale (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Functional Life Scale were used as data collection tools. Kolmogorov-Smirnov distribution tests were used to evaluate the data obtained in the study. 50.5% of the patients were male, 93.8% were married, 71.1% were living with their spouse and children, 42.6% were primary school graduates, 76.1% were not working and 36.1% were income was partly compensated for by income, 73.4% knows their disease, 92.2% received this information from the doctor, 66.2% were in the 4th stage, 74,8% had no other chronic disease, 68,5% had no family member who was diagnosed with cancer, 87,5% were unable to fulfill their responsibilities due to their illness, and 48.2% of them adversely affect the life because of the ilness. It was found that the patient's age, sex, the people they live with, marital status, educational status did not affect their quality of life. The mean scores of the EORTC QLQ-C30 scale and all subscale scores of the scale were low, the three highest symptom scores were pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue, The mean scores of the functional life scale, especially social functions and gastrointestinal symptoms scores were significantly lower and the functional status of the patients was not desired level. Based on these results, it may be suggested to evaluate the quality of life and functional status of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and to undertake the planning and implementation of appropriate nursing interventions. Key words: Cancer, chemotherapy, functional status, quality of life, nursing.