The relationship between anemia-related fatigue and quality of life in canceric patients

Background: Fatigue is one of the most common and disturbing complications of cancer and the cancer-associated therapies that can influence various aspects of patients’ life leading to appearance of many problems. The quality of life is among the topics that could be affected by fatigue. Objective: The aim of this research was to determine the relationship between anemia-related fatigue and quality of life in cancer patients. Methods: This was a descriptive study of correlation type performed on all cancer patients (No. 84) whose hemoglobin contents were less than 12g/dI hemoglobin. The measuring tools were the FACT-AN to assess the impact of anemia-related fatigue and the FACT-G to evaluate the quality of life. The data were analyzed by chi-square and ANOVA tests. Findings: The majority of patients (67.8%) suffered a medium level of fatigue and 46.5% with a relatively good quality of life. There was a statistical correlation between the anemia-related fatigue and the quality of life (p<0.024). Conclusion: Regarding our findings, it is recommended that the members of health team, in particular the nurses, to be alert to recognition of anemia and fatigue as a major sign of anemia in cancer patients. Special care to reduce the degree of fatigue in such patients could improve the quality of life as an important index of general health.