Cancer is a serious illness that affects lives of thousands of people. It is always devastating to hear the news from one’s doctor that this illness is now part of their lives. The first thought that appears in people’s minds is “I am going to die”. Unfortunately, there are, indeed, many types of cancer that will be nothing short of fatal. Those kinds have no cure and there is nothing that can be done about them. However, even if one is ultimately going to perish from cancer, then that does not mean one has to count their days with no hope of tomorrow.

Researchers actively work on creating ways to improve quality of life for those affected by this illness. Aldige (2015) writes that there are five dimensions identifiable in the definition of the quality of life: physical (i.e. symptoms such as fatigue), functional (whether one is able to take care of themselves), social (relationships), psychological (anxiety, depression) and spiritual (individually determined by the patient, usually the most important one to them). Quality of life evaluations can be extremely helpful when attempting to help patients cope with their illness. Aldige (2015) reports that 100% of surveyed physicians stated that these assessments helped with identifying issues related to pain in patients much faster. However, there are several aspects that one has to be aware of when attempting to improve a patient’s quality of life.

Firstly, there are dimensions in quality of life that might jeopardize healing if they are not addressed (Ezat, Noraziani, Sabrizan, 2012). Therefore, it is important to assess a patient’s expectations and how realistic it will be to reach them, before attempting to treat the person. This is because if one’s expectations do not meet reality, the quality of life might greatly decrease. Each patient may have different thoughts on what their ideal quality of life aspect would contain. Hence, it is important to set realistic expectations and to inform patients of how likely it is that their goal is reached.

One can see how quality of life is a crucial aspect of the patient’s life that needs to be taken care of. Ultimately, this is the major influence that may drive one to either move on and attempt to overpower the illness or give up and let the sickness take over. Thus, quality of life is often the main source used to assess the success of a patient’s treatment (Dehkordi, Heydarnejad, Fatehi, 2009). Research has discovered that there are several concerns cancer patients are preoccupied with. Dehkordi et al. (2009) state that these are: fear concerning their future, thinking about the illness and its consequences, impatience, and depression. Furthermore, it was found that a patient’s quality of life is independent of their background, education, age or sex.

Dehkordi et al. (2009) proposed that one way to affect patients’ quality of life is by introducing them to chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a type of treatment that “uses drugs to kill cancer cells” (WebMD, 2017). It targets the ones that divide rapidly and works throughout the whole body rather than targeting cancer-specific cells. Chemotherapy, however, may also affect healthy cells and thus lead to adverse effects. While there are side-effects to using this type of treatment, it was shown that it does affect quality of life and mostly in positive ways (Dehkordi et al., 2009). Hence, one of the ways to improve the quality of life in cancer patients is by introducing them to this treatment option. Patients themselves have reported an increase in their quality of life post-treatment. Thus, chemotherapy does show to have significant weight in affecting quality of life.

Another way to make a positive effect on individuals’ lives can be a both preventive and healing method. It is as simple as being provided with healthy nutritious sustenance, ceasing smoking, and a healthy lifestyle overall (Ezat et al., 2012). Naturally, not every person can afford to buy healthy produce due to their income or environment. However, Ezat et al. (2012) have found that people in Malaysia live until as long as 76.5, because of this factor alone. Healthy nutrition results not only in better aging, but better overall health. As for exercise, research has found that patients who have remained active and added any sort of physical activity to their lifestyle have had a decrease rate in breast cancer recurrence and were less likely to submit their lives to the cancer (Health Report, 2016). Knowing this statistic, paired with an active lifestyle shall benefit not only their physical state and health, but their confidence as well. Hence, cancer patients will benefit from being presented with nutritious food and being encouraged to add as many healthy lifestyle choices as possible, including limiting stress.

Many cancer patients face struggles with depression and anxiety, however, it is crucial that these issues get dealt with in time. This is because they may impact not only one’s quality of life, but recovery success as well. Some people may find that it is more difficult for them to cope with their disease while dealing with mental health issues simultaneously. In some cases, the stress is so difficult to cope with that it worsens their cancer. It is common to experience stress during this challenging time. However, a patient who is receiving help to cope with these struggles is much more likely to have a higher quality of life than a patient who does not solve these issues. Although, patients should keep in mind that while combating mental health issues will make it easier to cope with the illness, there is not a significant effect on prolonging their lives (Mulick, 2018). Nevertheless, it will help greatly with overcoming their illness and improving quality of life. Hence, addressing mental health issues is rather crucial in order for quality of life to be improved.

Another way to help patients cope and improve their quality of life is by introducing them to palliative care, sometimes also known as whole-person, supportive or comfort-oriented care. Its goal is to prevent, treat, reduce and remove discomfort and can be used at any stage of cancer, even when a patient is nearing end of their lives or when treatment has been finished (Livestrong, 2015). It can be performed by medical professionals, social workers, therapists, even nutritionists. Basically, any qualified professional that can impact a patient’s wellbeing and quality of life. They will evaluate a patient’s emotional and physical state, offer help and counselling and assist in overcoming the stated difficulties and even offer help with transport and legal and insurance matters (Livestrong, 2015). Palliative care may also aim to provide help with coping with symptoms such as nausea, pain, side effects from using certain treatments and so on. For those patients who are nearing their death, this type of care is willing to assist in planning one’s funeral, providing spiritual or faith-based counselling and counselling offered for family members of the soon-to-be deceased patient. Overall, palliative care is about offering patients help with coping and improving their quality of life, no matter which area is in need of nurture. This type of care shall strive to offer help with any aspect and try to improve patients’ wellbeing and – if necessary – help them with the process of passing.

Cancer is, undoubtedly, one of the toughest hardships one has to go through and it can affect anyone at any age of their life. However, there is help available and new research is done to improve cancer patients’ quality of life. Palliative care is something that a person battling cancer should definitely turn to for help, chemotherapy should not be feared and taking care of oneself should be the patient’s top priority. At the end of the day, there is help available to improve one’s quality of life.

References

Aldige, C. (2015). Improving the Quality of Life for Lung Cancer Patients. CancerCare. Retrieved from https://media.cancercare.org/publications/original/230-roundtable_lungcancer.pdf?1454959638

Dehkordi, A., Heydarnejad, M., Fatehi, D. (2009). Quality of Life in Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy. Oman Medical Journal, 24(3). DOI: 10.5001/omj.2009.40

Ezat, WP, S., Noraziani, K., Sabrizan, O. (2012). Improving Quality of Life Among Cancer Patients in Malaysia. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 13. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2012.13.3.1069

Health Report. (2016). Improve Quality of Life During Cancer Treatment. Dayton Daily News. Retrieved from https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/health/improve-quality-life-during-cancer-treatment/OxJ1iH4z1ZSefxGix1t1eN/

Livestrong. (2015). Palliative Care to Improve Quality of Life. Livestrong. Retrieved from https://www.livestrong.org/we-can-help/emotional-and-physical-effects-of-treatment/palliative-care-to-improve-quality-of-life

Mulick, A., Walker, J., Puntis, S., Burke, K., Symeonides, S., Gourley, C., Wanat, M., Frost, C., Sharpe, M. (2018). Does Depression Treatment Improve the Survival of Depressed Patients with Cancer? A Long-Term Follow-Up of Participants in the SMaRT Oncology-2 and 3 Trials. PubMed. Doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30061-0.

WebMD. (2017). Chemotherapy: How It Works and How You’ll Feel. WebMD. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/cancer/chemotherapy-what-to-expect#1