Abstract:

Background: The purpose of this descriptive study is to determine the perception of ilness and quality of life in patients with cancer. Materials and Methods: The sample of the study consisted of 151 cancer patients who were inpatient and outpatient in the oncology clinic of an education and research hospital between December 2019 and February 2020. The data were collected using Personal Information Form, Ilness Perception Scale (IPQ), Quality of Life Index-Cancer Version-III (QOL-CV). The data were evaluated in SPSS 25 program with descriptive statistics, Independent Samples t, Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney U. Results: It was found that 58.3% of the patients were female, 29.1% had colon cancer and 11.9% had no information about the ilness. It was found that the mean scores of the patients' perception of personal control (23.00 ± 3.35) from the IPQ subscales were the highest, and the family subscale mean score of the QOL-CV subscales was found to be the highest (26.97 ± 5.04). The total QOL-CV score was 23.44 ± 4.42. Conclusion: It was determined that the patients' perception of internal control and quality of life family subscale was high also and their total quality of life was moderate. Key words: Cancer, Illness perception, Quality of life.