Does the time since diagnosis affect the quality of life in patients with haematological malignancies at early and late period?

Aims: We aimed to determine the quality of life, social support levels and factors affecting patients who were diagnosed with hematological malignancy and received therapy, regarding the certain time points after diagnosis. Turkish version of the EORTC-QLQ-C30 scale is a tool with valid and reliable indicators in assessing the quality of life of patients with hematological cancer. It makes it essential to support our patients throughout the therapy and even after the end of treatment, both medically and socially with experts in the field. Methods: Turkish version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 v.3.0 was used to assess QoL measures. A total of 89 patients were included and were grouped according to the demographics, diagnostic sub-groups and time elapsed from diagnosis. Results: The scales resulted to be similar across gender and diagnostic groups. When the groups were compared, it was found that the scores in the physical function and role function scales were higher and the scores in the fatigue, loss of appetite, constipation, and diarrhoea scales were lower in younger patients. Constipation was higher in the first 6 months, and no significant difference was observed between groups regarding the remaining QoL measures, interestingly this was also available for a comparison between 1 year period and more. Conclusion: The time from diagnosis had no apperant impact on QoL measures in our patient group. It makes it essential to support our patients throughout the therapy and even after the end of treatment, both medically and socially with experts in the field.