Alopecia due to chemotherapy and its effect on the wellbeing cancer patients

Purpose: The present research is aimed to determine the effect of cancer symptoms of the patients on their well-being and the level of emotional distress that they experience due to alopecia. Material and Methods: The population of this research with an analytical sectional design was comprised of the patients that received treatment in An University Hospital outpatient chemotherapy unit between the 1st of March and 1st of June in 2021 and met the research criteria. The number of samples was determined as 164 with G-power. Patient information form, Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia Distress Scale, and Nightingale Symptom Assessment Scale were among the tools for data collection. The data were analysed with the SPSS package program and a correlation analysis was conducted between descriptive statistics and average scale scores. Results: According to the results of the research, the average age of the participants was determined to be 56.55 + 10.54. Participants’ both chemotherapy-induced alopecia distress scale and mean scores of sub-dimensions and Nightingale symptom assessment scale were found lower in the participants aged 61 and above. Conclusion: It was found out that the alopecia-induced distress and symptom-related well-being of the participants were affected by their age, marital status, and non-chemotherapeutic treatment.