Subjective Well-Being and its Impact on Cancer-Related Fatigue in Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy and Long-Term Survivors

Abstract Objective: This study examines the profile of subjective well-being among 33 patients undergoing radiotherapy at the time of the study and 30 long-term survivors for over five years. A subject of the study is also the relation between the aspects of subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive and negative affect) and the separate dimensions of fatigue and an analysis has been made of their influence on the burden of fatigue among the examined people. Materials and Methods: A total of 66 cancer patients were enrolled in the study – 33 patients undergoing radiotherapy and 30 long-term survivors. Multidimensional questionnaire on fatigue MFI-20 and Scale for subjective well-being (SWLS) were used to assess Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and Subjective well-being in patients during radiation-treatment and in long-term survivors. Data were analyzed using the Spearman Correlation analysis and t-test of Student. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine the predictors of fatigue score during radiation-treatment and long-term survivor cancer patients. Results: Of all the components of subjective well-being, only life satisfaction and the positive affect showed a substantial relation with the five dimensions of fatigue, namely: general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, mental fatigue. The burden of the physical and general fatigue among patients undergoing radiotherapy was estimated primarily based on the grounds of life satisfaction, (ß = -0.53; р = 0.03), respectively; (ß = -0.40; р = 0.01), the negative affect (stress) was a major predictor of the burden of general fatigue among patients belonging to the same group (ß = 0.33; р = 0.03). The positive affect predicts to a large extent the burden of the general (ß = -0.54; р = 0.02) and physical fatigue (ß = -0.36; р = 0.04) for the group of the long-term survivors for over five years. Conclusions: In congruence with positive psychology, positive affect and life satisfaction, as aspects of subjective well-being, proved to be protective factors against the burden of fatigue. These results can guide the development of individually tailored interventions that may reduce the impact of fatigue on patients with cancer.