Poster Presentation
Thursday, July 12, 2007
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Thursday, July 12, 2007
3:15 PM - 4:00 PM
Symptom Prevalence and Intensity in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Treatment
Hee-Ju Kim, PhD, school of nursing, Kyungpook National Univeristy, Daegu, South Korea
| Learning Objective #1: Learners will be able to describe common and intense symptoms in breast cancer patients undergoing treatment. |
| Learning Objective #2: Learners will be able to describe how symptom prevalence/intense changes across the treatment trajectory and across the treatment modality. |
This study examined the prevalence and intensity of 20 oncologic symptoms in breast cancer patients across treatment trajectory. A secondary analysis was used. The sample included 282 breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Data were collected across the treatment trajectory: at baseline (Time 1) and at two follow-up time points (Time 2 and 3) after initiating cancer therapy. 48 hours after the second and third treatments were the follow-up points for chemotherapy patients. The last week of treatment (a total of six weeks of treatment) and one month after completion of treatment were the follow-up points for radiation treatment patients. Before treatment started (at Time1), fatigue, insomnia, and pain were the most commonly experienced symptoms, with more than 50 % prevalence. At Time 2, fatigue and insomnia were the most prevalent symptoms (> 50% prevalence). In addition to fatigue and insomnia, more than 50% of patients receiving chemotherapy experienced nausea, decreased appetite, constipation, and frequent urination. In contrast, patients receiving radiation treatment most frequently experienced pain and skin damage at the treatment area, in addition to fatigue and insomnia. At time 3, fatigue and insomnia were the most common symptoms. In addition to fatigue and insomnia, nausea, decreased appetite, constipation, and urinary frequency were most prevalent in patients receiving chemotherapy (> 50% prevalence). In patients who completed radiation treatment, pain and hot flashes were most prevalent (> 40% prevalence). In terms of symptom intensity, most patients indicated that their symptoms were mild or moderate. Fatigue appears to be relatively more intense, particularly in chemotherapy patients: about 7 at the mean intensity (score range 1-10). In caring cancer patients, clinicians need to consider the dynamic nature of symptom prevalence and intensity across the treatment trajectory and across the treatment modality.