Symptom, Symptom Experiences, and Symptom Distress Encountered by Women With Breast Cancer Undergoing Current Treatment Modalities

Abstract

Adjuvant chemotherapy protocols used to treat women with breast cancer have evolved over the last decade and have dramatically altered the symptoms and symptom experiences of these women. The purpose of this study was to identify symptoms, symptom experiences, and resulting symptom distress encountered by women with breast cancer undergoing surgery and receiving current chemotherapy protocols. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 20 women for this study. Women were asked to tell their story and transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi's procedural steps. Six themes emerged. The most important theme was that symptom experiences and symptom distress, similar among all 20 women, were congruent with the type of treatment. After surgery, women complained of numbness, pulling, and body image changes; while receiving Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide, symptoms of intense nausea and hair loss caused distress; while receiving Paclitaxel, symptoms of intense bone pain and peripheral neuropathy caused distress. This study provides oncology nurses with a clear description of the symptoms, symptom experiences, and symptom distress women with breast cancer encounter during present-day treatment protocols. Knowing the symptoms and symptom experiences, as well as when they occur during treatment, provides oncology nurses with an opportunity to share with women about to start treatment for breast cancer the expected "normative" symptom experience. This in turn would allow women to anticipate symptoms, employ management strategies, and empower them to improve their cancer experience.

Chemotherapy‐induced alopecia and effects on quality of life among women with breast cancer: a literature review

“…Firstly, chemotherapy-induced hair loss is considered to be the most important side effects of chemotherapy, frequently ranking among the first three for breast cancer patients [16,19,25,26,29,30,39] and can lead to refusal of chemotherapy [3,20]. Secondly, it is described by breast cancer women as causing distress and as being traumatizing [5,[8][9][10][11]13,31,35,36]. Thirdly, there might be an impact on body image [17,40] although not all studies reported this association [14].…”

“…Patients described hair loss as traumatizing and distressing [5,[8][9][10][11]13,35,36]. Indeed, it was described as harder than losing a breast [3,13].…”

Adaptation of the Body Image after Breast Cancer Questionnaire in the Polish context: factorial structure and validity of the scale

“…Moreover, supplementary treatment in breast cancer patients may introduce additional health and appearance distortions relevant for body image. Among these, hair loss strongly impairs body esteem, although it depends on the attitude to this problem the woman adopts (Baxley, Kendrick, & Brown, 1984;Boehmke & Dickerson, 2005). While some women view their hair loss as a sign of courage and a source of pride, others perceive it as a traumatic experience seriously undermining their identity.…”

Hypnosis in Breast Cancer Care

“…Breast biopsy, lumpectomy, and mastectomy often induce psychological distress, pain, and, mainly due to anesthesia, nausea and vomiting. [3][4][5][6][7] Chemotherapeutic and radiotherapeutic breast cancer treatment are strongly associated with psychological distress, fatigue, and, in the case of chemotherapy, nausea and vomiting. [8][9][10] Substantial psychological distress is present in 1 out of every 3 breast cancer patients.…”