PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to identify over time the changes of cancer symptom, depression and quality of life (QOL) among people who had stomach or colorectal cancer.
METHODS
Of the 74 participants recruited, 67 participated in the study. Participants were asked to complete three instruments at three different time. The instruments were the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Gastrointestinal Cancer Module, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General. The questionnaires were administered before chemotherapy, toward the end of chemotherapy, and six months after the completion of adjuvant therapy. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and repeated measure ANOVA.
RESULTS
At the immediately after chemotherapy point, the most frequent symptom was lack of appetite, followed by fatigue and problem with remembering things. The mean score for depression was 8.27 with a prevalence of 31.3%. The mean score for quality of life was 61.88 out of 135. Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant increase in cancer symptom (F=23.22, p < .001) and depression (F=35.29, p < .001) after chemotherapy. However, improvement was observed 6 months after the completion of chemotherapy. QOL (F=33.73, p < .001) also showed similar patterns as observed with cancer symptom and depression. Cancer symptom was the strongest predictor of QoL at pre-chemotherapy point. but depression was the strongest predictor at immediately after chemotherapy point.
CONCLUSION
Chemotherapy is highly associated with cancer symptom, depression and QOL in patients with cancer. The nursing intervention is needed to relieve depression as well as cancer symptoms to improve QOL in patients undergoing chemotherapy from baseline to follow-up.

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