Facts and expectations in women on chemotherapy for breast cancer
Keywords:
Breast cancer, Quality for life, ChemotherapyAbstract
Objective: Thisstudies main goal is to help improve the qualityof life ofpatients who go through chemotherapy
treatment forbreast cancer, evaluating: the prior knowledge of chemotherapyside effectsand aftergoing through
it; the repercussions at the emotional level; all the informations given by the assistant doctor; the influences on
workactivities. Methods: Wesubmitted questionnaires to32 patients whounderwent chemotherapy at the Oncology Departament ofthe Federal University ofRio de Janeiro or in private institution between October 2007
and September 2008. The interview covered thefollowing aspects: psychological wholeness (felings towards
treatment), social (family support and biased conducts), environmental (information available priorto chemо)
and physical (medication used and side effects from drug intake). Results: The middle age was 46,7 years.
Alopecia was the mostknown factor, and the disturbances ofmood appear like apractically unknown one. The
medicationsprescribed in thecontrol of symptoms are efficient in 56,25% (18 patients) of the cases. Thefamiliar
support, the absence of discrimination and the removal ofthe job activities during the treatment are common.The alopecia and nausea were considered itens informed well by the oncologist. And when the chemotherapy
was compared with the prior expectation, the only factor saw itselfseen how worse ofwhat the imagined
went alopecia (14 patients - 50%). Other boarded factors were the same or better than the expected one.
Conclusion: Quality of life tends to be consolidated like an important variable in the clinical practice. It's
development will turn in changes in assistencial practice and in the consolidation of new paradigms of the
process greet disease.
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