Postoperative Lifestyle of Patients with Liver Cancer: An Exploratory Study in a Single Center in Taiwan

Abstract

Various treatments are available for patients with liver cancer; however, complications after treatment affect their quality of life (QOL). To improve the QOL of patients with liver cancer, this study investigated the postoperative lifestyle of sixty patients at the Liouying District Hospital, Taiwan. A self-reported structured questionnaire and a modified Chinese version of the Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (HELP-C) were used to collect the demographic data and to assess patients’ overall postoperative lifestyle, respectively. Significant differences were observed between the overall postoperative lifestyle and the demographic variables of age, ethnicity, education level, marital status, chronic diseases, and postoperative complications (p < 0.05). Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the HELP-C domains of diet, leisure, and activities of daily living (ADL) between the sexes. The scores for diet (9.66 ± 4.21) and leisure (4.33 ± 2.03) in women were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than those in men (13.13 ± 4.98 and 6.17 ± 2.37, respectively), indicating that women with liver cancer should be more concerned about diet and leisure after surgery. However, the score for ADL was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in women (17.90 ± 5.15) than in men (13.48 ± 2.56), indicating that men should focus on improving ADL. This research provides reference clinical data on the postoperative lifestyle of patients with liver cancer to improve their QOL.