European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society
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The aim of this study was to 1) examine the occurrence and burden of side effects over time in the period after post surgical adjuvant radiotherapy in women with breast cancer and 2) explore the women's experiences of given information and need of support to handle side effects. ⋯ Nursing for women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant radiotherapy should focus on preventing and treating side effects, and also include the period post treatment. There is a need for developing evidence based guidelines including guidelines for follow-up.
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The effect of symptom clusters on functional status and quality of life in women with breast cancer.
The purposes of this study of women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy with/without radiation therapy were to determine whether: (1) subgroups of oncology outpatients can be identified based on a specific symptom cluster (i.e., pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, depression); (2) these subgroups differ on outcomes (i.e., functional status, quality of life); (3) subgroup membership changes over time. ⋯ Subgroups of patients with different symptom experiences were identified. For some patients severity of all four symptoms persisted months after cancer treatment. Initial and ongoing assessment to identify those patients in the ALL HIGH patient subgroup is important so that appropriate interventions to improve functional status and quality of life can be offered.