Table 2.
Core quality of life of the study participants
| Variable | Breast cancer (N = 252) | Cervical cancer (N = 75) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | P a | Mean | SD | P a | |
| Global health status (Overall QOL score) b | 75.33 | 20.25 | 75.56 | 17.93 | ||
| Age | 0.823 | 0.935 | ||||
| ≤ 44 | 73.55 | 18.06 | 75.00 | 14.91 | ||
| 45–54 | 75.39 | 19.17 | 75.62 | 13.85 | ||
| 55–64 | 74.83 | 21.58 | 77.17 | 22.50 | ||
| ≥ 65 | 78.67 | 22.06 | 73.21 | 20.20 | ||
| Educational attainment | 0.435 | 0.811 | ||||
| None/Elementary | 75.63 | 25.76 | 77.22 | 15.15 | ||
| Junior high school | 71.01 | 21.50 | 72.73 | 25.30 | ||
| Senior high/vocational school | 76.02 | 18.71 | 73.33 | 18.06 | ||
| College/university | 77.22 | 17.62 | 77.38 | 18.03 | ||
| Marital status | 0.835 | 0.870 | ||||
| Married | 75.40 | 20.38 | 76.26 | 18.45 | ||
| Single | 77.98 | 18.95 | 75.00 | 35.36 | ||
| Divorced/separated/Widows | 74.32 | 20.40 | 73.75 | 15.83 | ||
| Monthly household income | 0.002 | 0.008 | ||||
| ≦US$1,000 | 68.63 | 24.01 | 67.28 | 21.8 | ||
| US$1,001- US$2,000 | 74.26 | 16.54 | 78.41 | 11.97 | ||
| ≧US$2,001 | 79.36 | 18.62 | 81.73 | 14.73 | ||
| Number of comorbidities | 0.089 | 0.926 | ||||
| 0 | 77.11 | 19.71 | 75.39 | 19.75 | ||
| 1 | 75.82 | 18.24 | 74.21 | 15.57 | ||
| 2 | 71.81 | 22.94 | 78.57 | 9.45 | ||
| ≧3 | 64.44 | 24.08 | 79.17 | 25.00 | ||
| Medical institution | 0.462c | 0.936c | ||||
| Regional hospital | 73.26 | 23.26 | 75.83 | 23.40 | ||
| Medical Center | 75.76 | 19.61 | 75.45 | 15.75 | ||
| Cancer stage | 0.007 | 0.988 | ||||
| I | 75.38 | 19.91 | 75.45 | 18.52 | ||
| II | 72.11 | 21.29 | 76.19 | 19.02 | ||
| III | 81.48 | 17.85 | 75.00 | 10.54 | ||
| IV | 83.33 | 16.67 | 00.00 | 00.00 | ||
| Cancer recurrence or metastasization | 0.364c | 0.300c | ||||
| No | 75.59 | 20.20 | 75.91 | 17.71 | ||
| Yes | 70.14 | 21.46 | 62.50 | 29.46 | ||
| Treatment | 0.159 | 0.525 | ||||
| Surgery | 00.00 | 00.00 | 76.35 | 19.69 | ||
| Chemotherapy | 90.00 | 14.91 | 00.00 | 00.00 | ||
| Surgery& Chemotherapy | 70.67 | 27.55 | 83.33 | 9.13 | ||
| Surgery& RT & Chemotherapy | 67.50 | 24.36 | 69.44 | 17.68 | ||
| Surgery & HT | 69.44 | 26.92 | 00.00 | 00.00 | ||
| RT/Chemotherapy | 00.00 | 00.00 | 75.00 | 21.52 | ||
| Surgery & RT | 00.00 | 00.00 | 68.52 | 16.02 | ||
| Surgery & RT& HT | 80.56 | 16.79 | 00.00 | 00.00 | ||
| Surgery & Chemotherapy & HT | 75.15 | 18.84 | 00.00 | 00.00 | ||
| RT& Chemotherapy | 00.00 | 00.00 | 80.00 | 15.32 | ||
| Surgery & RT & Chemotherapy& HT | 74.46 | 18.40 | 69.44 | 17.68 | ||
| Surgery & RT & Chemotherapy & Targeted | 86.11 | 19.48 | 00.00 | 00.00 | ||
| Surgery & RT& Chemotherapy& HT& Targeted | 83.33 | 10.91 | 00.00 | 00.00 | ||
| other | 76.11 | 16.92 | 00.00 | 00.00 | ||
| Illness duration | 0.001 | 0.647 | ||||
| ≧2 and <3 years | 69.01 | 22.72 | 79.44 | 14.73 | ||
| ≧3 and <5 years | 80.99 | 18.08 | 74.36 | 15.44 | ||
| ≧5 years | 72.58 | 20.27 | 74.75 | 20.97 | ||
| QOL dimension | ||||||
| Functioning dimensiond | ||||||
| Physical functioning | 91.19 | 10.98 | 92.27 | 9.68 | ||
| Role functioning | 94.05 | 13.38 | 95.33 | 12.12 | ||
| Emotional functioning | 84.82 | 19.13 | 85.22 | 18.00 | ||
| Cognitive functioning | 77.12 | 19.42 | 85.56 | 17.18 | ||
| Social functioning | 86.18 | 20.66 | 92.00 | 14.85 | ||
| Symptom dimensione | ||||||
| Fatigue | 19.27 | 17.76 | 14.81 | 16.87 | ||
| Nausea and vomiting | 3.84 | 10.23 | 2.89 | 7.44 | ||
| Pain | 11.57 | 17.90 | 8.44 | 15.59 | ||
| Difficulty breathing | 8.20 | 16.13 | 7.11 | 15.78 | ||
| Insomnia | 26.06 | 23.71 | 16.89 | 24.73 | ||
| Lack of appetite | 6.22 | 16.86 | 3.56 | 10.36 | ||
| Constipation | 15.08 | 22.51 | 16.89 | 22.84 | ||
| Diarrhea | 5.82 | 13.69 | 10.22 | 17.31 | ||
| Financial difficulty | 13.89 | 23.36 | 10.67 | 22.70 | ||
a P value of ANOVA
bGlobal health status (i.e. Overall QOL score): 0–100, high scores indicate high QOL
c P value of t-test
dFunctioning dimension: 0–100, high scores indicate high functioning level
eSymptom dimension: 0–100, high scores indicate severe symptoms