ABSTRACT
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers of women in developing countries. Disease and its treatments affect different aspects of patients' life. The aim of the present study was to assess the quality of life among long term cervical cancer survivors and its association with clinical and pathological features in patients attended to cancer centers in Shahid Beheshti university of medical sciences,Tehran,Iran. A descriptive correlational design was used. 65 cervical cancer survivors who had completed their treatment during the time period from 2001 to 2008 participated in the study. Data were collected by two questionnaires: European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire "Cervix 24" and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core30-Version 3[rd]. Medical records were reviewed for pathologic and clinical features of these patients. Validity of these questionnaires was assured by content validity. Questionnaires were completed by phone interview with the patients. Reliability of these questionnaires was obtained by computing internal consistency [Cronbach alpha] and test re test. Data were analyzed by SPSS 17.: Mean age of participants was 57.85 with standard deviation 11.02. Mean age of participants' at the time of diagnosis was 54.83 with standard deviation of 11.33. Quality of life scores for these patients was 46.98 with standard deviation of 7.60, which is considered a moderate level of quality of life. Scores of physical functioning ,emotional ,and social functioning sub scales were 25 +/- 9.61-53.8 +/- 14.53 and 61.34 +/- 18.33 respectively.Therer was a significant association between quality of life scores and socioeconomic status .A significant association was also found between quality of life scores and duration of time from diagnosis and treatment completion. Findings of this study showed that quality of life of cervical cancer survivals was affected by cancer. Improving physical function and recovery form symptoms may improve quality of life of these patients
ABSTRACT
Dysmenorrhea is one of the most common disorders of women in reproductive age. In addition to physical and psychological disturbances, it may cause socioeconomic problems. The acupressure is a suggested treatments for dysmenorrhea. This study was conducted to identify and compare the effects of acupressure in Saninjo and DiJi points on pain severity of primary dysmenorrhea and systematic symptoms associated with it. This study was a cross-over clinical trial. 50 girls aged between 18 and 30 years old referred to an urban health center in Sar-e-Pol-e-Zahab city were selected. Subjects randomly allocated into two equal groups [A and B] and were assessed over three consecutive menstrual cycles. A questionnaire was used for data collection. Validity and reliability determined by content validity and test retest methods respectively. Pain severity was assessed using McGill pain ruler. At the end, data from 42 women were used for analysis with SPSS package. The severity of primary dysmenorrhea was 6.65 +/- 1.05 in SP6 and 6.84 +/- 1.9 in SP8 before acupressure and significantly decreased to 2.89 +/- 1.36 and 2.03 +/- 0.94 respectively after acupressure [P<0.001]. We can conclude that dysmenorrhea pain decreased after acupressure and SP6 and SP8 points can be used as an urgent remedy to alleviate primary dysmenorrhea