Quality of life in patients attending a low‐risk gynaecological oncology follow‐up clinic

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Abstract
Objectives: (1) To assess the quality of life (QOL) of patients who had been treated for gynaecological malignancies and who were attending a low risk follow‐up clinic. (2) To determine the accuracy of the clinic physicians' assessment of patients' QOL compared with the Functional Living Index—Cancer (FLI‐C) [Schipper et al., 1984. Measuring the quality of life of cancer patients: the Functional Living Index—Cancer: development and validation. J Clin Oncol 2(5): 472–483]. (3) To examine a single subjective question about change in QOL. (4) To assess patient fear of cancer recurrence. Design: Self‐administered patient questionnaire. The questionnaire contained the FLI‐C, with four additional questions. Setting: Low risk (good prognosis) follow‐up clinics in the Department of Gynaecological Oncology at King Edward Memorial Hospital (the tertiary centre for obstetrics and gynaecology for the state of Western Australia). Patients: 202 consecutive attendees of the clinic. Non‐English speaking patients attending without an interpreter were excluded. Results: Most patients reported a good QOL. The range of FLI‐C scores was 59–154 (possible range 22–154), with a median score of 140 and a mean of 134. Younger patients were more fearful of cancer recurrence. Radiotherapy was associated with a worsening of QOL. Patients living with partners experienced deterioration in sexual functioning. Conclusions: Patients attending the low risk follow‐up clinic after gynaecological malignancy have a good overall QOL. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.