Effect of dietary counseling on quality of life and nutrition status of oral cancer patients in Uttar Pradesh

The study was conducted with the objective to assess the efficacy of nutritional counseling on quality of life (QOL) and nutrition status of oral cancer patients. The present study was carried out at the Department of Radiotherapy, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University, Lucknow. It included all individuals undergoing radiotherapy of oral and pharyngeal region, between 20–60 years of age. Total 75 patients were included by Purposive Sampling Technique. The tool selected for data collection was pre and post questionnaire, which included: General Information and Anthropometric data. Quality of life was assessed by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire i.e. EORTC QLQ C-30 (version 3.0) in two instances: one week before radiotherapy (Al) and 60 days (A3) after the therapy. Proper diet counseling was done during the period. The mean BMI of both sexes was increased after dietary counseling from 14.95+1.34 to 16.16+2.51 with a significant z value 5.21. Quality of life improved: physical functioning, emotional functioning and global health status increased after intervention. High score in the symptom scale such as fatigue, pain and appetite loss which decreased after dietary counseling. Significant differences was found as p<0.05. It can be concluded that, nutrition support should be indicated for cancer patients considering the potential effects to improve the quality of life.