Impact of the Blockade Concerning the Health-Related Quality of Life on Prostate Cancer Survivors Residing in Gaza Strip, Palestine
Keywords:
Quality of life, Health-related quality of life, prostate cancer, Gaza Strip, PalestineAbstract
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in males and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Palestine. Blockade imposed against Gaza Strip have affected the life of Palestinians living in Gaza Strip including those diagnosed with prostate cancer. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of blockade imposed by the Israelis on Health-Related Quality of Life (HR-QOL) of men diagnosed with prostate cancer and reside in Gaza Strip.
A total of a 121 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer and live in Gaza Strip participated in this cross sectional study. The University of California at Los Angeles Prostate-Specific Index (UCLA-PCI), along with other added items, was used to assess HR-QOL of participants and how it was affected by blockade.
Results revealed that scores of HR-QOL reported by participants of this study were lower than scores reported in the literature in the majority of the UCLA-PCI sub-domains and these differences were statistically significant. Results revealed that patients who missed some of their drugs during their treatment course had lower HR-QOL scores than those who did not miss their drugs. Similarly, most of the participants who needed to travel outside Gaza and where not able to travel on time reported that delay to travel had affected negatively their HR-QOL. On the other hand, inability to have a surgery done or delaying a surgery that was supposed to be done had not affected HR-QOL of participants. Finally, the majority of participants reported that they would travel to another country to seek treatment if the borders were open and the great majority of participants mentioned that blockade had a negative impact on their HR-QOL.
In a conclusion, blockade imposed by the Israelis on Gaza Strip had affected HR-QOL level of patients who were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Patients who missed some drugs during their treatment course and those who could not travel on time to a neighboring country to receive treatment were affected more than participants who did not miss treatment or those who could travel on time to receive treatment in a neighboring country.
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