DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pnvx0k6s4
title: Data for: Assessment of quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients

description: Background: A cancer patient's quality of life (QoL) is the
 perception of their physical, functional, psychological, and social
 well-being as well as their mental and emotional state. QoL is one of the
 most important factors to consider when a person is being treated for
 cancer and during follow-up. The present study aimed to understand the
 status of QoL of cancer patients and determine the factors affecting it.
 Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 210
 cancer patients attending the oncology unit of a medical college, within a
 4-month consecutive time period in 2022. Data were collected by using the
 Bengali version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of
 Cancer questionnaire. Results: The present study reported a high
 number of female cancer patients (67.6%). Breast cancer was more common
 among females (31.43%) while lung and upper respiratory tract cancer was
 among males (19.05). Most of the patients in the present study were
 diagnosed with cancer in the past year (86.19%). The functional
 scales' overall mean scores varied from 54.92 for physical
 functioning to 38.89 for social functioning. The highest symptom scale
 score was for financial issues (63.02), while the lowest was for diarrhea
 (33.01). The overall QoL of cancer patients in the present study was 47.98
 which was 45.71 for males and 49.10 for females
 respectively.   Conclusion: The overall QoL was
 poor in cancer patients in the present study compared to the developed
 countries. There was a low score for QoL for social and emotional
 function. Financial difficulty was the primary reason behind low QoL in
 the symptom scale. If the government supports cancer patients by providing
 subsidies for treatment and health insurance policies, cancer patients
 will benefit and QoL will improve.
description: The study proposal and consent form were approved by the Ethics
 Committee. The present study was conducted in the Oncology Unit of a
 medical college within a 4-month consecutive time period in 2022. The
 expected number of new cancer patients visiting the department was 400
 during the study period. We chose <em>p</em> = 0.50,
 <em>q</em> = 0.50, <em>Z</em> = 1.96, and
 <em>E</em> = 0.04 for<em> N</em> = 400, and the
 minimum sample size was calculated to be n = 196. For the purpose of this
 study, permission was sought from European Organization for Research and
 Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) to use the Bengali version of their EORTC QLQ
 C30 questionnaire. EORTC provided the research tool and scoring manuals
 for the study. The 30-item questionnaire covers 15 domains which consist
 of five functioning scales (physical functioning, social functioning, role
 functioning, emotional functioning, and cognitive functioning) and nine
 symptom scales (fatigue, pain, nausea/vomiting, dyspnea, sleep
 disturbances, appetite loss, diarrhea, constipation, and financial
 difficulties) and one global health status/ quality of life
 scale.(Aaronson <em>et al</em>., 1993) Strong scores on the
 functioning and global health status/QoL scales on the 100-point meter
 suggest high QoL, whereas high scores on the symptom scales indicate a
 high symptom burden.(Fayers PM <em>et al</em>.,
 2001) Data were collected 2 days each week. All adult
 patients who came to the outpatient clinic and all patients newly admitted
 to the inpatient clinic on those days were administered the questionnaire
 in person by the first author. The study objective was explained to the
 patients and verbal consent was obtained. Patients who were interviewed
 for this study previously, those who could not provide consent
 (unconscious), patients with suspected cancer but without a confirmed
 report, and patients less than 18 years of age were excluded.
 Socio-demographic characteristics such as age at treatment, gender,
 marital status, religion, economic status, and education were obtained
 from the patients. The information on clinical status such as the site of
 the primary tumor, stage of the tumor, and type of treatment was recorded
 from the clinical documentation. 
description: The identifying information in the dataset is limited to three
 variables and other variables are removed (religion, district, marital
 status, education, employment, economic status, duration of
 hospitalization [as this in combination with survey date can be an
 identifier], cancer type, stage, and treatment). These modifications were
 required for dataset approval. The collected data were
 entered into an Excel worksheet, exported to SPSS v 21, and analyzed. The
 descriptive statistics were used to describe the mean, the standard
 deviation (SD), and the cancer type, stage, and treatment
 distribution.