The quality of life of people surviving cancer is altered even ten years after diagnosis

People who have survived cancer have a poorer quality of life, more productivity losses and limitations related to their health than those who did not have cancer, even ten years after diagnosis, a large study shows American published in the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute" (JNCI).
Although the number of people surviving cancer increases, there is relatively little data on the burden of disease in these patients long-term, noted Dr. Robin Yabroff of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and his colleagues, who analyzed the results of the annual national health survey conducted in the United States.

They have thus compared the data collected from 1,823 people who have survived cancer, for more than eleven years in more than a quarter of cases (27%) - those for 5469 controls matched for age, sex and level of education.

It appears that people who have survived cancer have a poorer quality of life and a loss greater than those who have not had cancer productivity.

They were more likely than those who did not have cancer that has not worked in the previous month, to present disability to work due to their health (18% against 10.3%) and they had known more sick leave during the past 12 months (13.2 days against 5.7).

They also appear more frequently in poorer health, 31% (against 17.6%) perceived their health as poor or bad. Furthermore, only 13% of people with cancer survivors describe their condition as "excellent" health (21.9% against). In contrast, the proportion of people reporting a "good" health appears comparable in both groups in this study (33% of patients with cancer survivors against 29% for those who have never faced this condition).

In fact, people who have survived cancer are more frequently prone to osteoarthritis and rheumatism, back pain and neck fractures and joint damage, high blood pressure, as well as lung problems and tract.

In contrast, heart problems, stroke (stroke), diabetes, depression, anxiety or other emotional problems manifest themselves in a comparable in the two groups of participants frequency.

The difference between the two groups was observed for all tumor sites and was maintained over time, even more than ten years after diagnosis, the authors point out, however, that indicate that further research is needed, particularly for determine the extent to which different types of treatments and different types of cancer affect the quality of life in the long term themselves.