ASSESSMENT OF EXERCISE TOLERANCE AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN CANCER PATIENTS

Abstract

Background

Cancer is not an individual disease because it is a group of diseases that affect the person. In Pakistan, around one lakh and eighty-five thousand are new cases of this disease, and annually more than one lakh twenty-five thousand deaths are reported. The most common cancers are breast cancer, around 16.5 percent of cases; cancer of the lip and oral cavity, around 8.6 percent; and lung cancer, reported in 5.1 percent of cases.

Objective

To evaluate the exercise tolerance and quality of life in cancer patients.

Methodology

The cross-sectional study was conducted between Feb 2026 to July 2026. The sample size of the study was 255, calculated by Raosoft software. The validated questionnaire named as: EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 3) was used to assess the quality of life of cancer patients and exercise tolerance was measured by 6 Minute walk test. Data was analyzed through SPSS version 23.

Result

There were 255 cancer patients recruited from Karachi. The exercise tolerance of the participants by performing the 6-minute walk test reported as: 72 (28.23%) participants showed severely decreased. While response of questions regarding the quality of life reported as: around 102 (40%) of the participants faced problems during long walk. Around 97 (38.08%) need help during eating or dressing, 91 (46.66%) had problems remembering things during the past week.

Conclusion

There is a significant effect of exercise tolerance in the quality of life of cancer patients and physical therapy may improve both variables.