Psychological impact of 131I radioprotection measures on thyroid cancer patients

Abstract

Background and aimsIt is very well know nowadays that despite all the good and qualitative information available, the patients who are supposed to be treated with radioiodine for differentiated thyroid cancer suffer from a lot of concerns prior the treatment. The aim of our study is to investigate the level of anxiety and lessening of the concerns pre and post RIT (radioiodine therapy) using a dedicated, special designed questionnaire.MethodsA cross-sectional study of 54 differentiated thyroid cancer patients was conducted. Patients who met the inclusion criteria were invited to complete the radioprotection questionnaire pre and post RIT. The questionnaire comprises two sections (pre and post radioiodine treatment) with specific questions regarding aspects of radioprotection measures and the impact on the overall well-being. For uniform distribution of variables we used Pearson correlation and for monotonic relationship between variables, Spearman correlation.ResultsThe pre-treatment questionnaire reported a strong confidence of the patients in the medical team, good and accurate information regarding the treatment, >50 % suffering from anxiety and concerns before the radioiodine treatment. The post treatment questionnaire revealed no fear of isolation, a lot of useful information and most of the patients would undergo another treatment, if necessary and also recommend it to others.ConclusionThe milestone in having a good and compliant patient remains a very good communication between the medical team and the patient. We are able to influence and change things and have fewer patients with fear from radioactivity and treatment concerns if we dedicate enough time to give them the adequate information in the best way so it will be correctly received.

The "not so good" thyroid cancer: a scoping review on risk factors associated with anxiety, depression and quality of life

“…Our study supported some protective factors associated with increased QoL, which include good communication between the patient and the healthcare team via adequate and accurate information-giving, which can decrease patients’ anxiety levels and improve their QoL [ 79 ]. Psychological and behavioral interventions were also shown to improve QoL and reduce depression and anxiety [ 80 , 81 ].…”

“…The association between protective factors and anxiety, depression, or QoL in TC has been reported in 3 studies ( Table 4 ) [ 79 - 81 ]. One prospective study [ 79 ] established that patients who received more dedicated time for information-giving were less anxious about the treatment and concluded that good communication between the patient and the medical team is associated with increased QoL. A randomized control trial by Wang et al .…”

Systematic review of health-related quality of life following thyroid cancer

“…The potential toxicities of RIA were highlighted, as the increased risk of sialadenitis and reduced swallowing capability negatively affected HRQOL. 55 Despite >50% of patients having anxiety and concerns prior to RIA, Barbus et al 56 found most patients would undergo further courses if indicated, suggesting treatment burden has a relatively low HRQOL effect. This was supported by Taïeb et al, 50 who reported RIA to have no significant effect on HRQOL in the medium term (9 months).…”

Quality of Life of Survivors of Thyroid Cancer Is Not Inferior to That in Subjects without Cancer: Long-Term after Over 5 Years

“…The differences in HRQoL among total thyroidectomy, lobectomy, and robot-associated thyroidectomy remain inconclusive [5,[28][29][30]. The risk of sialadenitis and dysphagia after RAI, anxiety before RAI, iatrogenic hypothyroidism, and hyponatremia during a low-iodine diet with thyroid hormone withdrawal were associated with low HRQoL [11,[31][32][33]. In contrast to thyroid hormone withdrawal, preparation for RAI therapy with recombinant TSH was positively correlated with HRQoL [5,34,35].…”