Charles S. Carver
QLACS (Quality of Life in
Adult Cancer Survivors)
Many measures of quality of life (QOL) have been developed for
assessment of cancer patients. Most of these measures, however, were
developed for use during the period of treatment following diagnosis.
Because of increasing interest in the experiences of long-term cancer
survivors, we have developed a measure specifically for use with
persons who are 5 or more years past their cancer diagnosis. The
development of the measure began with in-depth interviews with 59
long-term survivors, followed by generation of an item pool that was
further reduced to final scales by administration to another sample of
242 survivors. Five cancer-specific domains were identified
(appearance concerns, financial problems, distress over recurrence,
family-related distress, and benefits of cancer) along with 7 generic
QOL domains (negative feelings, positive feelings, cognitive problems,
sexual problems, physical pain, fatigue, and social avoidance). Each
has a separate subscale.
Citation: Avis, N. E., Smith, K. W., McGraw, S., Smith,
R. G., Petronis, V.
M., & Carver, C. S. (2005). Assessing quality of life in adult
cancer survivors (QLACS). Quality of
Life Research, 14, 1007-1023. [abstract]
Scales are computed as follows:
Negative feelings, items 7, 9, 19, and 24
Positive feelings, items 6, 8, 22, and 28
Cognitive Problems, items 2, 3, 4, and 23
Pain, items 13, 17, 21, and 27
Sexual Interest, items 16 and 26
Energy/Fatigue, items 1 (reversed), 5, 11, and 14
Sexual Function, items 10 and 12
Social Avoidance, items 15, 18, 20, and 25
Financial Problems, items 30, 37, 43, and 45
Benefits, items 29, 32, 40, and 41
Distress-Family, items 31, 34, and 42
Appearance, items 33, 35, 38, and 44
Distress-Recurrence, items 36, 39, 46, and 47
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QLACS
INSTRUCTIONS: We’d like to ask you about some things that can affect
the quality of people's lives. Some of these questions may sound
similar, but please be sure to answer each one. Below is a scale
ranging from “never” to “always”. Please indicate how often each of
these statements has been true for you in the past four weeks. [Choose
one answer for each question]
1 = never 2 = seldom 3 =
sometimes 4 = about as often as not 5 =
frequently 6 = very often 7 = always
In the past 4 weeks ...
1. You had the energy to do the things you wanted to
do.
2. You had difficulty doing activities that require
concentrating.
3. You were bothered by having a short attention span.
4. You had trouble remembering things.
5. You felt fatigued.
6. You felt happy.
7. You felt blue or depressed.
8. You enjoyed life.
9. You worried about little things.
10. You were bothered by being unable to function
sexually.
11. You didn’t have energy to do the things you
wanted to do.
12. You were dissatisfied with your sex life.
13. You were bothered by pain that kept you from
doing the things you wanted to do.
14. You felt tired a lot.
15. You were reluctant to start new relationships.
16. You lacked interest in sex.
17. Your mood was disrupted by pain or its treatment.
18. You avoided social gatherings.
19. You were bothered by mood swings.
20. You avoided your friends.
21. You had aches or pains.
22. You had a positive outlook on life.
23. You were bothered by forgetting what you started
to do.
24. You felt anxious.
25. You were reluctant to meet new people.
26. You avoided sexual activity.
27. Pain or its treatment interfered with your social
activities.
28. You were content with your life.
The next set of questions asks specifically about the effects of your
cancer or its treatment. Again, for each statement, indicate how often
each of these statements has been true for you in the past four weeks.
29. You appreciated life more because of having had
cancer.
30. You had financial problems because of the cost of
cancer surgery or treatment.
31. You worried that your family members were at risk
of getting cancer.
32. You realized that having had cancer helps you
cope better with problems now.
33. You were self-conscious about the way you look
because of your cancer or its treatment.
34. You worried about whether your family members
might have cancer-causing genes.
35. You felt unattractive because of your cancer or
its treatment.
36. You worried about dying from cancer.
37. You had problems with insurance because of cancer.
38. You were bothered by hair loss from cancer
treatment.
39. You worried about cancer coming back.
40. You felt that cancer helped you to recognize what
is important in life.
41. You felt better able to deal with stress because
of having had cancer.
42. You worried about whether your family members
should have genetic tests for cancer.
43. You had money problems that arose because you had
cancer.
44. You felt people treated you differently because
of changes to your appearance due to your cancer or its treatment.
45. You had financial problems due to a loss of
income as a result of cancer.
46. Whenever you felt a pain, you worried that it
might be cancer again.
47. You were preoccupied with concerns about cancer.
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