Introduction: The aim of the study was to assess the point of life and illness at which patients began to receive palliative care and in what areas of their quality of life effective alleviation of their suffering is possible.
Material and methods: The study included 63 patients aged 33–91 years with lung cancer treated in palliative medicine centers in Bydgoszcz in 2012–2013. The assessment of quality of life was performed every three weeks, using the QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13 questionnaires.
Results: The median time from diagnosis to the start of palliative care was 10 months, and the median palliative care duration for the whole group was 4 weeks. Patients with a survival time less than 6 weeks (n = 42) experienced worse symptoms and limitations in their functioning during the whole period of care until their death compared with those who survived a little longer (6–8 weeks; n = 21). Fatigue, constipation and dyspnea were among the worst symptoms; the latter intensified in the last period before death. The quality of life assessed by patients continuously deteriorated, and in the last days/weeks before death it was defined as “very bad” by more than 2/3 of patients.
Conclusions: Late provision of patients with palliative care can lead to its limited effectiveness in improving the quality of life, which is dependent on symptoms that are experienced by patients and ability to function in the physical, emotional, cognitive, social and societal spheres.