Outcome measures
buttock pain, sore, anxiety, Cancer, impotence, dyspnea, abdominal pain, hair loss, insomnia, nausea, bloating, flatulence, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, dyspareunia, pain, constipation, dysuria, stoma, dry mouth
IMPOTENCE, DYSPAREUNIA, DISEASE, URINARY INCONTINENCE, HAIR LOSS, FECAL INCONTINENCE, APPETITE LOSS, DRY MOUTH, CANCER
All participants were assessed at baseline, 12, and 24 weeks. Health-related QoL was accessed using the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire–Core 30 (QLQ-C30) [The 30-item QLQ-C30 contains five functioning scales (physical, role, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning), three symptom scales (fatigue, pain, nausea, and vomiting), six symptom items (dyspnea, insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhea, financial difficulties), and a global health status/QoL scale. Scores for each scale/item range from 0 to 100. A higher score for the global health status/QoL represents a better QoL, and higher scores on the functional scales reflect better functioning. Higher scores on the symptom scales reflect a higher level of symptomatology/problems. The QLQ-C30 scoring manual [The 29-item QLQ-CR29 is a disease specific instrument used to supplement the EORTC QLQ-C30 to assess health-related QoL in patients with CRC. This 29-item questionnaire contains four subscales (urinary frequency (UF), blood and mucus in stool (BMS), stool frequency (SF), body image (BI)) and 19 single items (urinary incontinence, dysuria, abdominal pain, buttock pain, bloating, dry mouth, hair loss, taste, anxiety, weight, flatulence, fecal incontinence, sore skin, embarrassment, stoma care problems, sexual interest (assessed using different questions for men and women), impotence, and dyspareunia). Patients were asked to indicate their symptoms for sexual interest items during the past 4 weeks and symptoms for all other items/scales during the past week. Responses were linearly transformed into a score ranging from 0 to 100 [