title: Individual quality of life in patients with multiple myeloma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The situation of patients with multiple myeloma, whose treatment often implies high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation that can be associated with severe symptoms and psychological distress, has gained attention in recent psychooncological research. This study followed an idiographic approach in order to identify the areas of life most relevant for the interviewed myeloma patients' quality of life (QoL) as well as their current satisfaction with these.
  
  
  METHODS
  64 patients took part in semi-structured interviews according to the SEIQoL-DW Manual (Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life - Direct Weighting). Visual analogue scales (VAS) were used to gain additional information about a general assessment of the present QoL. Qualitative data evaluation preceded quantitative processing. Groups were compared according to the time elapsed since diagnosis regarding specified areas of life, satisfaction with these and their relative weighting. SEIQoL-DW-indices were correlated to the VAS to reflect on an interindividually comparable parameter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Personal social relationships were mentioned significantly more often as important for QoL than health-related aspects, and in direct comparison were weighted significantly stronger. Regarding the change of areas relevant for QoL over the time elapsed since diagnosis, there was a significant difference between groups concerning the area of spirituality. Satisfaction differed significantly between groups for the field of leisure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results for the interviewed patients with multiple myeloma point out the need to take into account the importance of social and individual aspects when reflecting on QoL. Similar findings have been reported for different samples. The relevance of an individualized approach is illustrated by the fact that individually named areas of life were rated comparatively strongly in their importance for the patients' QoL. An overall assessment for the current QoL by means of VAS is regarded as an adequate supplement to the SEIQoL-Profile and an alternative to the SEIQoL-DW-Index.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Clinic of Internal Medicine II, Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dürner
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reinecker
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Csef
keywords: Cancer; Individual quality of life; Multiple myeloma; Psychooncology
references.citation: Heart. 2005 Sep;91(9):1193-8
references.pmid: 16103557
references.citation: Qual Life Res. 2006 Apr;15(3):441-9
references.pmid: 16547783
references.citation: Psychooncology. 2008 Apr;17(4):338-46
references.pmid: 17614094
references.citation: J Clin Oncol. 1999 Nov;17(11):3603-11
references.pmid: 10550160
references.citation: Qual Life Res. 2003 Aug;12(5):545-54
references.pmid: 13677499
references.citation: J Pain Symptom Manage. 2005 Aug;30(2):154-9
references.pmid: 16125030
references.citation: J Neurol Sci. 2001 Oct 15;191(1-2):103-9
references.pmid: 11676999
references.citation: Psychooncology. 2002 May-Jun;11(3):239-43
references.pmid: 12112484
references.citation: J Pain Symptom Manage. 2010 Oct;40(4):502-9
references.pmid: 20594803
references.citation: Qual Life Res. 2009 Aug;18(6):737-46
references.pmid: 19496021
references.citation: Qual Life Res. 2005 Apr;14(3):779-88
references.pmid: 16022070
references.citation: Psychooncology. 2004 Feb;13(2):116-24
references.pmid: 14872530
references.citation: Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2004 May 28;2:27
references.pmid: 15169564
references.citation: J R Soc Med. 2008 Mar;101(3):133-8
references.pmid: 18344470
references.citation: Qual Life Res. 2010 Mar;19(2):253-91
references.pmid: 20047087
references.citation: Qual Life Res. 1995 Aug;4(4):293-307
references.pmid: 7550178
references.citation: Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 1997 Mar-Apr;47(3-4):76-91
references.pmid: 9206797
references.citation: BMJ. 1996 Jul 6;313(7048):29-33
references.pmid: 8664768
references.citation: Value Health. 2003 Sep-Oct;6(5):595-603
references.pmid: 14627066
references.citation: J Neurol Sci. 2005 Nov 15;238(1-2):11-7
references.pmid: 16109426
references.citation: Acta Oncol. 2011 Jun;50(5):648-52
references.pmid: 21323492
references.citation: Qual Life Res. 1994 Aug;3(4):235-44
references.pmid: 7812276
references.citation: Palliat Med. 2005 Jul;19(5):381-8
references.pmid: 16111061
references.citation: J Psychosom Res. 2005 Jun;58(6):497-504
references.pmid: 16125516
references.citation: Psychooncology. 2011 Jan;20(1):88-97
references.pmid: 20187072
references.citation: Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 2002 Mar-Apr;52(3-4):141-50
references.pmid: 11941521
references.citation: Eur J Haematol. 2012 Dec;89(6):437-57
references.pmid: 22985406