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KMID : 0363620120330030001
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Journal of Korean Oriental Medicine
2012 Volume.33 No. 3 p.1 ~ p.9
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Research on Subjective Symptoms of Cancer Patients Using Questionnaire - Based on the 48 Patients Who Have Participated in Clinical Trial about Korean Red Ginseng -
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Kim Eun-Jung
Jung Chan-Yung
Kim Kap-Sung
Lee Seung-Deok
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Abstract
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Objectives: This research was aimed 1) to find out various subjective symptoms cancer patients had, 2) to find out the quantitative difference of symptoms occurring according to the area of cancer, current treatment methods, and relapse of the cancer and 3) to analyze the relationship between the occurrence of symptoms.
Methods: This study was a survey about the various subjective symptoms cancer patients had. The subjects were 48 cancer patients in a double-blinded randomized controlled trial about the effectiveness of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) treatments. Surveys were examined before Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) treatments. The questionnaire consisted of demographic research, patient history and accompanying symptoms. The symptoms part consisted of 4 questions on general symptoms (vertigo, hot flush, rash, insomnia), 2 questions on digestion symptoms (anorexia, dyspepsia), 2 questions on excretions (diarrhea, constipation), and 5 questions on symptoms in different body parts (headache, dryness of lips, chest pain, aphthous ulcer, nose bleeding). The questionnaire was used to research presence of symptoms and relationships between the occurrence of symptoms.
Results: A total of 48 patients took part in this survey. Dizziness was the most frequent subjective symptom patients had (64.58%), followed by dry mouth (43.75%), headache (43.75%), insomnia (41.67%), anorexia (37.5%) and chest discomfort (37.5%). The presence of these subjective symptoms was partially related to the patient's history details - type of cancer, method of cancer treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy), termination of treatment, presence of pain, fatigue and recurrence, etc. Factor analysis was conducted to analyze the relationship between the occurrence of symptoms. It suggested 5 factors as a result, but there was a limitation that only a low level of correlation was shown among them.
Conclusions: We were able to analyze the occurrences and the relationships among them for accompanying subjective symptoms in cancer patients. However the results of the study are limited in that only 48 patients participated. The symptoms in cancer patients showed a tendency for clustering, occurring simultaneously or continuously rather than occurring alone. The study of these symptom clusters is worth further study, for it is similar to the Symptom Differentiation System in Traditional Korean Medicine. For effective approach to the treatment of cancer in Traditional Korean Medicine, further research on the Korean traditional view of cancer patients should be done based on this research, regarding various symptoms and those relationships on a larger scale.
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KEYWORD
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Cancer , symptom , subjective symptom , KRG (Korean Red Ginseng) , history
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