Supportive care provided by physicians and nurses to women with breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer patients' utilisation of supportive care has been understudied. In this paper, results from a population-based survey are used to assess the role of physicians and nurses in providing supportive care to women. Participants for this study were women with histologically confirmed invasive breast cancer diagnosed 23-36 months prior to contact about the study, who were randomly selected from the Ontario Cancer Registry. Patients for whom a physician approved contact were sent a survey questionnaire. There were two follow-up mailings. The survey included items related to patients' perceptions of supportive care involvement of oncologists, surgeons, family physicians and nurses. Among 1,119 eligible patients, 65% returned completed questionnaires. A total of 72% of these women reported having talked with an oncologist about one or more supportive care issues; 78% with a surgeon; 73% with a family physician; and 45% with a nurse. Factors linked to seeking supportive care from physicians and/or nurses included: younger age, working status, higher education, additional health insurance beyond that provided by government, higher household income, and receiving chemotherapy. Results indicate that physicians and nurses were providing important supportive care to most women with breast cancer. In a health care context where specialised supportive care services (e.g. help from dietitians, psychologists, social workers) are often unavailable or difficult to access, supportive care remains largely a responsibility of medical and nursing professionals. Even brief interventions may make an important difference to how patients deal with their illness over time.

Patients' Experiences and Perceptions of a Consultative Model Integrative Medicine Clinic: A Qualitative Study

“…An important question is whether the IM practitioner is adding factors beyond a humanistic, empowering relationship to the treatment program, a caring experience that another provider might otherwise provide in an optimal healing environment. 35,42 The notable differences in emphasis between cancer and noncancer patients in the current data with regard to patient-provider relationships (17.2% vs 51.7%) suggest that cancer patients, in contrast with noncancer patients, may value elements of IM other than the supportive provider-patient relationship, for example, the possibility of learning about new options for treatment.…”

“…Hann also desired a "more involved" relationship with their provider yet did not report a negative experience with their conventional therapies or treatment. Similarly, Gray et al 35 reported that supportive care services and provider relationships were extremely important to patients with breast cancer. Rankin et al 36 identified doctor-patient communication as the most important aspect of psychosocial care for women with breast cancer.…”

Who Is Responsible? The Role of Family Physicians in the Provision of Supportive Cancer Care

“…The study did not take into consideration the effects of patient characteristics (eg, age, sex, education, income, and disease site) on physician role, an area in which other studies have found relationships. 2,25 For the purposes of this research, it was reasoned that the role indicated by physicians would be their most common role applied to the majority of their patients.…”

“…Various proposals have been offered for dealing with this mismatch of supply and demand. 2 Canadian researchers in particular have called for delegation of some cancer care, especially survivor care, to primary care physicians. 3 An important element in promulgating such a policy is its acceptance by the primary care physicians themselves.…”

Family physician involvement in cancer care and lung cancer patient emotional distress and quality of life

“…Researchers have studied the relationship between support provided by family physicians (FP), specialists, or nurses to patients and their level of coping and QoL [2,18]. A good relationship with FP was associated with lower level of distress and better patients' fighting spirit [2,19].…”