Multidisciplinary rehabilitation for follow-up of women treated for breast cancer

Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation in Women with Breast Cancer: a Systematic Review

“…It highlights the lack of robust, methodologically strong studies evaluating the effectiveness of MD rehabilitation intervention in this population. Consistent with another review in this area [14], most studies were of 'poor quality' due to multiple methodological flaws (such as unclear/ lack of randomization procedure, concealed allocation and blinding procedures). Of the seven studies included only one was of 'moderate' quality.…”

“…For this review, MD rehabilitation was defined as 'any intervention delivered by two or more disciplines (e.g. nursing, physiotherapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), dietetics/nutrition, social work (SW), psychology or neuropsychology) referred by a medical specialist (surgeon, oncologist, rehabilitation physician)' [14]. All studies that assessed the effectiveness of organised MD rehabilitation (fulfilled the above definition) for women with BC with either routinely available local services or lower levels of intervention (such as medical or nursing care only), in different settings (inpatient, ambulatory/outpatient or home-based settings) or at different levels of intensity, irrespective of study designs were included.…”

“…Other reports have discussed the role of rehabilitation in cancer generally [7,19]. One systematic review of MD care for BC patients [14] reported 'weak evidence' for inpatient MD rehabilitation in producing shortterm gains at the levels of impairment (shoulder range of movement), psychosocial adjustment and QoL after BC treatment. There was no evidence available on long-term functional gains at the levels of impairment, psychosocial adjustment and QoL.…”

Supportive Care Needs following Cancer Treatment: A Comparison of Breast and Brain Cancer in an Australian Cohort

“…Advanced medical management in cancer has significantly improved survival rate both in BC and BT populations, and there is growing recognition of these conditions as a long-term illnesses impacting psychological functioning and QoL [39,40]. However, the physical and psychological morbidity and needs associated with these impairments, as in other cancer patients, can be underestimated [15,41].…”

“…BT and BC are complex and challenging conditions, with multifaceted physical, psychological, and cognitive disabilities and participatory limitations that require an integrated interdisciplinary approach [39,40]. Understanding the impact of BT and BC in the longer term (beyond the acute phase) is important, as current medical advances have improved patient survival and shifted care patient management to the ambulatory care sector.…”