Coping skills and quality of life in tongue cancer survivors:a cross-sectional study

Aim: This study aimed to clarify the actual conditions of cancer survivor ability, ability in daily life, quality of life, and speech intelligibility in patients with tongue cancer who underwent tongue resection. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted for this study. Descriptive statistics were used to elucidate the actual conditions of “cancer survivor ability,” “ability of patients with tongue cancer to lead their lives,” “quality of life (QoL),” and “speech intelligibility.” The Mann–Whitney U test was used to analyze the relationship between the actual conditions and survivor duration for “cancer survivor ability,” “ability of patients with tongue cancer to lead their lives,” and “quality of life (QoL)”. Results: The number (%) of valid responses was 72 (97.3%). The items that showed decreased ability in the group who had survived for ≥28 months were “Negotiating: I can ask my healthcare provider if I am concerned about the onset or recurrence of an illness (P = 0.044)” and “Standing up for your rights: Do you feel empowered to stand up for your rights regarding your cancer? (P = 0.044).” There were no significant differences among the other items. None of the six skills of Cancer Survivor Competence and Tongue Cancer Patient Livelihood Competence were sufficient, and “Information Seeking” was low in both. The overall QoL score was 62.2 for EORTC QLQ-C30. The lowest score on the functioning scale was 83.3 for emotion, and the highest score on the symptom scale was 20.0 for fatigue. In terms of speech intelligibility, 44 patients (61.1%) reported that their speech had changed from that before surgery. Conclusion: The cancer survivor skills and life skills of patients with tongue cancer are insufficient and do not improve over time, suggesting a need for long-term support to help them acquire these skills.