Living with Cancer: The Association between Disease Duration and Quality of Life Outcomes, a Cross sectional study

Background Cancer patients' quality of life (QOL) is an important measure that affects both their general health and responses to treatment. Assessing the effect of cancer duration on patients' quality of life is the aim of this study. Methodology QOL in cancer patients was measured in a cross-sectional study using a four-point Likert-type rating scale. The QOL scores were classified as average, above average, significantly high, below average, and significantly poor. Appropriate statistical tests were applied in the statistical analysis and p value<0.05 is taken as significant Results The QOL was higher for patients who had been diagnosed for less than six months. On the other hand, QOL significantly declined as cancer duration progressed. Of those who had cancer for more than 36 months, only 17.3% had an average quality of life (QOL), whereas 44.8% had significantly poor QOL.These correlations were found to be statistically significant(p<0.05) Conclusion QOL is adversely affected by the course of cancer; longer disease duration is linked to a lower quality of life. Cancer patients may benefit from early therapies to retain a higher quality of life.