Specialist breast care nurses for supportive care of women with breast cancer

Abstract

Background Breast Care Nurses (BCNs) are now established internationally, predominantly in well resourced healthcare systems. The role of BCNs has expanded to reflect the diversity of the population in which they work, and the improvements in survival of women with breast cancer. Interventions by BCNs aim to support women and help them cope with the impact of the disease on their quality of life. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of individual interventions carried out by BCN's on quality of life outcomes for women with breast cancer.

Exploring patient experiences of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer

“…It can be argued that surgery, cutting out the problem, is readily understood whereas systemic treatment is more complex to understand (Beaver, Jones, Susnerwala, Craven, Tomlinson, Witham et al 2005). It has been shown that breast care nurses (BCN) are an important source of information and support, helping women cope with their disease (Beaver, Tysver-Robinson, Campbell, Twomey, Williamson, Hindley et al 2009;Cruikshank, Kennedy, Lockhart, Dosser, Dallas 2008,). However, for those women who receive neo-adjuvant treatment, it is not clear what their specific needs and concerns are and how services can best be organised to meet those needs.…”

Un-met Supportive Care Needs of Iranian Breast Cancer Patients

“…These needs can be categorized into five main domains, including psychological, health system and information, physical and daily living, patient care and support, and sexuality (Fitch, 1994). Previous research of cancer patients in Germany and China (Lam et al, 2011), Australia (SansonFisher et al, 2000;Hodgkinson et al, 2007), Europe (Armes et al, 2009;Griesser et al, 2011;Schmid-Büchi et al, 2011;Schmid-Büchi et al, 2012), North America (Whelan et al, 1997), and Japan found the highest unmet needs to be in the psychological (Cruickshank et al, 2008;Armes et al, 2009;Crowe et al, 2009;Griesser et al, 2011;Lam et al, 2011;Okuyama et al, 2011;Schmid-Büchi et al, 2012) and information/ education domains (Whelan et al, 1997;Sanson-Fisher et al, 2000;Rutten et al, 2005;Cruickshank et al, 2008;Griesser et al, 2011). Unmet supportive needs related to physical and daily living, patient care and support, and sexuality have also been reported, but less frequently Schmid-Büchi et al, 2011).…”

An integrative framework to support the assessment function of Quebec’s pivot nurses in oncology

“…Among the goals of the assessment, it was determined that the systematic assessment of needs and the screening for distress by PNOs enhance the organization of care and facilitates coping with the illness (Cruickshank, Kennedy, Lockhart, Dosser, & Dallas, 2008;Fillion et al, 2011;Liebert et al, 2003;Melinyshyn & Wintonic, 2006).…”

“…To structure and guide the assessment process, many authors have developed tools, written forms inspired by theoretical models (Jennings-Sanders et al, 2005) or indicator lists (Cruickshank et al, 2008) and screening tools such as the one for distress Holland & Bultz, 2007;Swanson & Koch, 2010). As none of these tools are able to pinpoint the population's needs on their own, an approach combining self-administered questionnaires, a semi-structured interview and tools speci c for certain conditions is recommended (Richardson et al, 2007;Wen & Gustafson, 2004).…”