open access
Aspects of Health-Related Factors and Nutritional Care Needs by Survival Stage among Female Cancer Patients in South Korea
Introduction
Over
2.4 million South Korean women were diagnosed with a female cancer
(site of breast, cervix uteri, corpus uteri, or ovary) in 2012....
.... In addition, there are some national health/medical care systems for
cancer patients in Korea with national health insurance systems as
“Caner Control Act”, “Policy on Home-Based Management for Cancer” and
“Policy on Hospice and Palliative Care for Terminal Cancer Patients” [27–29].
However cancer patients still cannot be given better service. Those
medical care systems are graded payment, and insufficient to cover the
all patients and survivors. Regarding diet and nutrition managements,
several hospitals are carrying out nutritional care, counselling, and
education program, but it is not responsibility. Even there are no
statistical figures to investigate the supports’ implementation status.....
Abstract
Purpose
This
study examined diet-related problems and needs associated with
nutritional care according to survival stage in Korean female cancer
survivors.
Methods
186
outpatients (breast or gynecologic cancer survivors) recruited.
Subjects were classified as (1) extended stage (ES, 2–5 years from
diagnosis) and (2) long-term stage (LS, ≥5 years from diagnosis). Eating
habits, changes in health related factors, nutritional needs, and
quality of life were investigated.
Results
43%
of ES survivors had diet-related problems (p = .031); ES group reported
dyspepsia
(indigestion) and LS group reported anorexia/nausea as the major problem.
Half of ES survivors had taste change, decreasing amount of intake, and
reduced quality of life (p < .05). The LS group had a greater
preference for sweet tastes than the ES group. According to their
diagnosis,
ES survivors with breast cancer gained weight (27.1%),
whereas ES survivors with gynecologic cancer lost their body weight
(34.5%) significantly. LS breast cancer patients showed great food
preference for vegetables, whereas those with gynecologic cancer showed
an increased preference for fish, meat and grain. Approximately 90% of
survivors demanded nutritional care regarding restricted foods,
preventing recurrence, particularly in ES survivors (p < .01).
Moreover, main factors for nutritional care needs were body weight
control for breast cancer and food environment for gynecologic cancer.
Conclusion
Survivors
have different aspects of diet-related problems by survival stage as
dyspepsia in ES and anorexia in LS. ES stage had changes in dietary
patterns and their food consumption have decreased. Most of survivors
have demanded nutritional care regardless of survival stage. These
features of each stage should be considered to improve their health.
0 comments :
Post a Comment
Your comments?
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.