Investigation of the Quality of Life of Patients Diagnosed with Breast Cancer Treated with Chemotherapy

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in the world and in our country and it is an important problem because it can lead to mortality. Chemotherapy is a treatment method that can be used alone or in different combinations in all stages of breast cancer including early stage breast cancer, locally advanced breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer. In addition to its therapeutic effects, chemotherapy is known to cause many symptoms such as oral mucositis, fatigue, anaemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, constipation, diarrhoea, anorexia, nausea-vomiting and alopecia, which reduce the quality of life. Nurses have important roles in providing effective symptom management by evaluating the frequency and severity of these symptoms and increasing the quality of life of patients. The aim of this review is to examine the quality of life in patients diagnosed with breast cancer and receiving chemotherapy and to report the interventions that nurses can implement to improve the quality of life of patients.

Keywords

• nursing,
• chemotherapy
• breast cancer
• quality of life

Meme Kanseri Tanısı Alan ve Kemoterapi Uygulanan Hastaların Yaşam Kalitesinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

Meme kanseri, dünyadaki ve ülkemizdeki kadınlarda en sık rastlanan kanser türü olduğundan ve mortaliteye yol açabildiğinden dolayı önemli bir sorun olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Kemoterapi ise, erken evre meme kanseri, lokal ileri evre meme kanseri ve metastatik meme kanseri olmak üzere meme kanserinin tüm evrelerinde tek başına veya farklı kombinasyonlar ile kullanılabilen bir tedavi yöntemidir. Kemoterapinin, terapötik etkilerinin yanı sıra yaşam kalitesini azaltan oral mukozit, yorgunluk, anemi, nötropeni, trombositopeni, konstipasyon, diyare, iştahsızlık, bulantı-kusma, alopesi gibi birçok semptomu ortaya çıkardığı bilinmektedir. Bu semptomların sıklığı ve şiddetinin değerlendirilerek etkili semptom yönetiminin sağlanmasında ve hastaların yaşam kalitesinin artırılmasında hemşirelerin önemli rolleri bulunmaktadır. Bu derlemenin amacı, meme kanseri tanısı alan ve kemoterapi uygulanan hastalarda yaşam kalitesinin incelenmesi ve hemşirelerin hastaların yaşam kalitelerini artırabilmek amacıyla uygulayabilecekleri girişimleri bildirmektir.

Keywords

• hemşirelik,
• kemoterapi,
• meme kanseri,
• yaşam kalitesi

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