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Education of cancer patients--a psychosocial support in the holistic anticancer treatment.

PURPOSE
To assess the readiness for education and the learning needs of cancer patients, and to assess the correlation between the information and different aspects of quality of life (QoL).


PATIENTS AND METHODS
70 cancer patients were enrolled. All of them answered a questionnaire specifically designed to assess the readiness and needs for education, and the level of the information among them. The Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) was used for QoL estimation.


RESULTS
28 (40%) out of 70 patients had high motivation for education, while 62 (88%) expressed positive attitudes toward learning. Sixty-three (90%) patients needed to know more about nutrition. The topics about alternative and complementary cancer treatments interested 59 (84%) patients. Forty-two (60%) patients wanted to learn about changing of the life habits and about their own active participation of adaptation to their new situation due to cancer. There was significant (r=-0.33, p<0.005) correlation between the information and global QoL, and borderline significance between the information and physical aspects of QoL (r=-0.233, p=0.052).


CONCLUSION
We showed that better understanding knowledge, and skills in the rearrangement of treatment goals and making changes in plans for future might have great impact on QoL. Education of cancer patients in this direction has to be systematic and planned according to the patient's wishes and learning needs. Only in this way education could be a powerful means in coping for better QoL and a psychosocial support in the holistic treatment of cancer patients.