Pain and Malnutrition in Elderly Cancer Patients: Examples of Southern Turkey

Objective: The prevalence of geriatric cancer disease is gradually increasing. Both the cancer diagnosis and many accompanying symptoms affect individuals bio-psycho-socially and impair the quality of life. This study was conducted to evaluate pain and nutritional status in geriatric cancer patients. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with geriatric cancer patients receiving treatment in the ambulatory chemotherapy outpatient clinic of a university and oncology hospital. The population of the study consisted of cancer patients receiving treatment in the hospital and the sample consisted of 215 geriatric cancer patients who were voluntary to participate in the study. The data of the study were collected using a questionnaire, the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the Mini Nutritional Assessment. Results: The mean age of the patients was 69.3±4.7 years. Respiratory tract cancers ranked first (28.8%). 42.8% of the patients were at stage four and they frequently experienced symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite and poor nutrition. VAS mean score was 4.8±2.8, Mini nutritional assessment mean score was 9.2±3.0, and there was a negative significant correlation between the VAS and Mini nutritional assessment mean scores (p