Level of disease acceptance and quality of life in people with lymphoma

Introduction: The paper discusses the assessment of the quality of life and the disease acceptance level among patients with lymphoma. The various neoplastic diseases of the lymphatic system present patients with great difficulty in accepting this illness, and they determine their quality of life. The objective of the study is to assess the disease acceptance level in patients with lymphomas and evaluate their quality of life during treatment.

Material and methods: The study considered a group of 105 patients at the Haematology and Marrow Transplantation Clinic in Kielce. The method used included a diagnostic survey with the standardised The World Health Organization Quality of Life – BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF), adjusted to Polish conditions, and the Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS).

Results: Among the subjects a very low level of disease acceptance occurred in 7.6% of the respondents, all patients with lymphomas, and a high level in 15.2%. All the women considered their level of life quality as average. The same statement was made by 50% of male respondents. The higher the level of disease acceptance is, the better is the quality of life of the patients.

Conclusions: The subjects presented low and average levels of disease acceptance and quality of life. The lowest ratings were obtained in respect of quality of life regarding physical aspects and the individual general perception of one’s health, whereas the highest ratings were obtained for quality of life regarding the social sphere. The patients’ place of residence had a considerable impact on their level of disease acceptance.