Pediatrics

Biography

Biography: Rashida Bibi

Abstract

Cancer is a major health problem all over the world and the second most leading cause of death globally. The mortality rate of cancer is very high across the world- as 1 in 6 deaths are due to cancer. Approximately 70% of deaths due to cancer are reported in low-income and middle-income countries. Aim of the study: To determine the severity of symptoms in Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors and to assess the relationship between quality of life and demographic variable in Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in two tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The census method (consecutive) sampling technique was used to collect data from 100 participants using the quality of life checklist and symptoms memorial assessment scale. Results: The mean age of the participants was 8.71 years. Almost all participants reported symptoms such as headache, nausea, and vomiting, social life restrain, poor schooling, difficulty urination, and concentration, poor attention, lack of energy, cough, feeling sadness and nervousness, dry mouth, numbness, difficulty in sleeping, diarrhea, shortness of breath, sweating and itching. Overall, the majority (53%) participants had the average quality of life, 35% participants had a good quality of life while only 12% participants of the study had poor quality of life. Conclusion: Pediatric brain tumor survivor patients experienced a variety of symptoms.  The quality of life among pediatric brain tumor survivor patients was not very bad as they have reported average quality of life in this study.

Keywords: Pediatric, Brain tumor, survivors, Quality of life, Symptoms experiences.