The Burden of Symptom Among Gynaecological Cancer Patients in Tertiary Heath Center In Ilorin.

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to assess symptom burden among gynaecological cancer patients accessing care in a tertiary health institution in Nigeria.  Methods: All patients with gynaecologic cancers presenting at the clinics and ward over a period of 6 months were recruited into the study. The patients completed an interviewer administered symptom assessment tool which assesses a 7-day prevalence and distress/frequency of 32 physical/psychological symptoms. Demographics, cancer types and stages were obtained from case notes. Results: Forty-nine gynaecological cancer patients were studied. Over 90% (45/49) of them had advanced disease. The mean number of symptoms among the patients was 8.1 + 4.6. The 5 most common symptoms were weight loss (67.3%), pain (65.3%), worrying (53.1%), feeling sad (51.0%) and lack of energy (46.9%). The most distressing symptoms were vaginal bleeding/discharges, pain and poor body image. Conclusions:  This study shows significant physical and psychological symptom burden among gynaecological cancer patients. Pain is one of the most common and together with vaginal discharge were the most distressing symptoms among gynaecological cancer patients.