{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,30]],"date-time":"2026-10-30T16:49:48Z","timestamp":1793378988902,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,9]],"date-time":"2025-01-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736380800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Cancer is the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and its symptoms can affect an individual\u2019s life holistically.\n\nObjectives: Our study aimed to determine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of individuals dealing with cancer in the Free State, South Africa.\n\nMethod: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design utilising the standardised Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy \u2013 General (FACT-G) questionnaire as well as a self-developed sociodemographic and general health information questionnaire was used in this study. The study was conducted at the Universitas Annex Oncology Clinic.\n\nResults: A total of 507 participants were conveniently sampled. The median age was 53 years with 73.8% being female. The FACT-G\u2019s overall score ranged from 11.7 to 108, with a median of 76.7 (interquartile range [IQR] 63\u201389.5). The Social or Family Well-Being subscale indicated the highest median of 22.2 and the Emotional Well-Being subscale the lowest of 18. The Physical Well-Being subscale found that 61.8% of individuals felt forced to spend time in bed and 53.4% experienced nausea. The Functional Well-Being subscale showed that 70.3% of individuals accepted their illness and 51.6% enjoyed their life.\n\nConclusion: Our study highlights the importance of using a clinical assessment tool to determine the influence of cancer on the individual\u2019s HRQoL. Involvement of the individual\u2019s family and friends during management, as well as identifying the need for psychosocial support, is crucial for positively influencing HRQoL.\n\nClinical implications: The FACT-G is a valuable tool in guiding physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals with patients\u2019 cancer-related treatment experiences.\n\nKeywords: FACT-G; HRQoL; cancer; physiotherapy; well-being.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/sajp.v81i1.2094","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,9]],"date-time":"2025-01-09T06:38:14Z","timestamp":1736404694000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Health-related quality of life of individuals dealing with cancer in the Free State: A survey"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"81","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3743-0077","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roline Y.","family":"Barnes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/009xwd568","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Free State"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3590-0191","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karen","family":"Bodenstein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/009xwd568","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Free State"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3889-0438","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mari\u00ebtte","family":"Nel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/009xwd568","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Free State"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","unstructured":"Benjamin, A., Jason, B. & Lauren, L., 2021, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy \u2013 General, viewed April 2024, from https:\/\/www.facit.org\/measures\/FACT-G."},{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Brucker, P.S., Yost, K., Cashy, J., Webster, K. & Cella, D., 2005, \u2018General population and cancer patient norms for the functional assessment of cancer therapy-general (FACT-G)\u2019, Evaluation & the Health Professions 28(2), 192\u2013211. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0163278705275341","DOI":"10.1177\/0163278705275341"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Buiting, H.M. & Olthuis, G., 2020, \u2018Importance of quality-of-life measurement throughout the disease course\u2019, JAMA Network Open 3(3), e200388. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2020.0388","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2020.0388"},{"key":"ref3","unstructured":"CANSA, 2022, CANSA on cancer myths, viewed July 2022, from https:\/\/cansa.org.za\/cansa-on-cancer-myths\/."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Capio, C.M., Cindy, H.S. & Abernethy, B., 2014, \u2018Physical well-being\u2019, in A.C. 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