Physical Functionality of Cancer Patients Receiving Disease-Directed Therapy (DDT) with Palliative Care Compare with Patients on DDT Only in Kwara State, Nigeria

Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement caused by muscle contractions and resulting in energy expenditure. Palliative care is a special care for patients with active, progressive, advanced disease such as cancer where the prognosis is short and the focus of care is the quality of life. The study assessed the difference in the physical functionality of cancer patients receiving palliative care along with disease-directed therapy and cancer patients receiving only disease-directed therapy in Ilorin, Kwara State Nigeria. The study was a comparative cross-sectional research design conducted among 108 cancer patients at two tertiary institutions in Ilorin, Kwara State Nigeria. Patients who received palliative care alongside cancer-directed therapy were recruited from University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and compared with cancer patients receiving only cancer-directed therapy from General Hospital Ilorin. About two-third 62.8% of the respondents taking palliative had good physical health, while over half 54.3% of the disease-directed therapy respondents had poor physical functioning. In addition, 34.1% of patients on both therapies reported no trouble in bending, kneeling and stooping, 23.7% could climb one flight of stairs with little help and 45.8% of the respondents reported no difficulty in bathing and dressing themselves. The relationship was statistically significant at p< 0.05. The study demonstrated that addition of palliative care services significantly improves patient outcomes in the domains of physical function. It therefore recommended that palliative care intervention should be part of care for cancer patients from onset of diagnosisas this may prevent subsequent symptoms and inappropriate treatment.