Daily assessment of quality of life during 100 courses of radiation: Pain, anxiety, problems or concerns, and need to see physician

• Published in: Journal of clinical oncology Vol. 31; no. 15_suppl; p. e20625
• Main Author: Howell, David D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 20.05.2013
• ISSN: 0732-183X; 1527-7755
• DOI: 10.1200/jco.2013.31.15_suppl.e20625

Abstract only e20625 Background: Patients (Pts) undergoing radiation therapy (RTRx) may have pain, anxiety, distress or other symptoms impacting on quality of life (QOL) at the time of initiation of RTRx. Pts may also develop (or have an exacerbation of) one or more of the above during RTRx. During RTRx, pts are seen at least weekly by the treating physician (MD), and are seen daily by the treating radiation therapy technologists (RTT). Pts may develop problems between weekly MD visits which may benefit from MD interventions. A system was developed where pts would be asked four questions (4?) to assess QOL each treatment day by the RTT: 1) Are you having pain, and if so, how would you rate it on a scale of zero to 10? (PainQ); 2) Are you having anxiety or distress today? (ADQ); 3) Are you having new problems or concerns? (ProConQ); 4) Do you want to see the physician today? (CMDQ). This information was used in pts management. Methods: 100 RTRx courses were reviewed for demographics including gender, age, primary malignancy, region treated, # of visits and total RTRx dose, as well as detailed information from the 4? instrument. Results: Of the 100 pts, 56 were male. Disease distribution: Breast-22; Prostate-20; Head and Neck-20; Lung-13; Brain-7; Other-18. For the ADQ, 83 did not report anxiety or distress; 17 reported anxiety on one or two occasions. For the ProConQ, 35 reported none, 34 reported yes on 1 or 2 occasions, 22 reported yes on 3 to 5 occasions, and 9 reported yes on greater than five occasions; 29 reported yes on 2 days in a row, and 15 reported yes to problems or concerns on 3 days in a row. For the PainQ, 31 reported no pain throughout RTRx, with 22, 23, and 25 reporting pain of any magnitude for 1 to 5, 6 to 10, and greater than ten days, respectively. 22 reported pain greater than 6 on at least one occasion. For CMDQ, 26 of pts did not request additional visits, 71 and 3 requested to see the MD an additional 1 to 5, and 6 to 10 times. Conclusions: A simple instrument prompting a 4? QOL query to pts undergoing RTRx may prompt the need for further evaluation and interventions between scheduled MD visits. This may facilitate more expeditious interventions for RTRx related toxicity as well as for treatment dependent or independent QOL symptoms and needs.