Time frame: 12 months after radical resection of rectal cancer and protective stoma closure
A core scale for all cancer patients with 30 entries, each on a 4-point scale, rated 1 to 4. It can be categorized into 15 domains, with 5 functional domains (somatic, role, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning), 3 symptomatic domains (fatigue, pain, and nausea and vomiting), 1 domain of general health status/quality of life, and 6 single entries (each as a domain). The scores of the entries included in each domain were summed and divided by the number of entries included to obtain a score for that domain (Raw Score RS). In order to make the scores of each domain comparable with each other, a linear transformation was further performed using a polarization method to convert the rough score into a standardized score (SS) with values ranging from 0 to 100. Higher scores for the functional and general health domains indicate better functional status and quality of life, while higher scores for the symptom domain indicate more symptoms or problems (poorer quality of life).