Table 3
Aspects of the course of the patient’s illness and the views of 56 bereaved relatives about quality of life and the value of radiotherapy
| Good or acceptable quality of life | Satisfaction with radiotherapy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | p Value* | N (%) | p Value* | |
| Figures are numbers (percentages) of relatives. | ||||
| *Pearson’s χ2 test for difference (two tailed) rounded to two points or χ2 test for trend. †data missing in three cases because the patient was too confused; ‡from ratings of relatives’ reports made in the initial part of the illness at interview 1 or 2; §assessed by the World Health Organisation Clinical Performance status11 after the diagnosis; ¶time lived before the Barthel score14 dropped below 20; **data from “best follow up interview”10 for 34 patients who were well enough for interviews; ††data for 38 relatives seen at follow up during the illness. | ||||
| Age (years) | ||||
| 21–44 | 5/13 (38) | 7/13 (54) | ||
| 45–59 | 9/18 (50) | 9/18 (50) | ||
| 60–75 | 8/25 (32) | 0.50 | 9/25 (32) | 0.50 |
| MRC Prognostic Index Score | ||||
| 0–15 | 3/7 (43) | 4/7 (57) | ||
| 16–25 | 11/23 (48) | 14/24 (58) | ||
| 26–38 | 8/26 (31) | 0.50 | 8/25 (32) | 0.20 |
| Surgery | ||||
| Biopsy | 8/29 (28) | 7/29 (24) | ||
| Partial or complete resection | 14/27 (52) | 0.06 | 19/27 (70) | 0.01 |
| Initial distress† | ||||
| Nil | 10/16 (63) | 11/16 (69) | ||
| Some | 10/23 (43) | 12/23 (52) | ||
| Marked or moderate | 2/14 (14) | 0.01 | 3/14 (21) | 0.02 |
| Cognitive or personality change‡ | ||||
| Nil/some | 16/30 (53) | 16/30 (53) | ||
| Marked or moderate | 6/26 (23) | 0.02 | 10/26 (39) | 0.50 |
| Initial disability§ | ||||
| 0 or 1 | 9/13 (69) | 8/13 (62) | ||
| 2 | 10/24 (42) | 14/24 (58) | ||
| 3 or 4 | 3/19 (16) 0.01 | 4/19 (21) | 0.02 | |
| Time lived free from physical disability¶ | ||||
| 6 months or more | 11/17 (65) | 12/17 (71) | ||
| 1 to 5 months | 8/18 (44) | 10/18 (56) | ||
| 0 months | 3/21 (14) | 0.01 | 4/21 (19) | 0.01 |
| Length of survival | ||||
| 12 months or more | 9/16 (56) | 11/16 (69) | ||
| 6 to12 months | 9/21 (43) | 12/21 (57) | ||
| Less than 6 months | 4/19 (21) | 0.05 | 3/19 (16) | 0.01 |
| Patient report of problems** | ||||
| Remained well/improved | 13/17 (76) | 13/17 (76) | ||
| Continuing/worsening | 5/17 (29) | 0.02 | 9/17 (53) | 0.30 |
| Relative report of problems†† | ||||
| Remained well/improved | 12/14 (86) | 12/14 (86) | ||
| Continuing/worsening | 8/24 (33) | 0.01 | 12/24 (50) | 0.06 |
