Assessment of quality of life, emotional state, and coping skills in patients with neoplastic pulmonary disease

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the quality of life, emotional state (anxiety and depression) and coping skills of a sample of lung cancer patients before the surgery. Methodology: 121 ambulatory patients with non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were interviewed before the surgery. Patients filled the EORTC QILQ-C30 questionnaire, and the EORTC-LC13 lung module, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) Scale. Demographic and clinical data were also recorded. We compared the groups according to the gender and to the type of surgery treatment. Result: The quality of life scores of the patients before the surgery were acceptable (72.5). On average patients had high levels of functioning and low levels of symptoms in both EORTC questionnaries (QLQ-C30 and the lung cancer specific module LC13). Only pneumonectomy patients have limitations in some quality of life areas (role functioning, pain in the chest and haemoptysis). Few differences were observed between the genders. Dyspnoea was the main symptom related to low quality of life, depression, anxiety and some physical symptoms (fatigue and pain). 20.53% displayed high level of depressive symptoms and 32.15% anxiety. The most prominents ways of coping used by lung cancer patients are fatalism (71.67%) and fighting spirit (70.49%). Conclusions: Investigating the influence of psychological factors on the preoperative could be very useful for an early identification of psychological risk factors and bad adjustment to the illness and be able to plan a psychological intervention. Further investigations and longitudinal studies are needed especially to establish comparative among pre and post-operative moments.