Aims: To compare the needs and issues faced by breast cancer survivors who received chemotherapy as part of their treatment with those who did not and to assess satisfaction with a Specialist Breast Nurse-led survivorship clinic.
Methods: A multi-method evaluation included the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ) -C30 (version 3), EORTC QLQ-BR23 (version 1), reviews of wellness plans, and a patient satisfaction survey. All breast cancer survivors who attended a Specialist Breast Nurse-led survivorship clinic at a Western Australian private-not-for-profit hospital between 06/11/2017 to 20/06/2019 who were >18 years, any gender, had surgery alone or received any type of adjuvant/neo-adjuvant breast cancer treatment in addition to surgery were eligible to participate.
Results: A total of 68 breast cancer survivors participated, the majority received chemotherapy (66%, n=45) as part of their treatment and were female (99%, n=67). The level of significance for the study was set at 0.05 with a confidence level of 95%. Significant differences were found in the quality of life between chemotherapy and non-chemotherapy groups for financial difficulties (p=.002), body image (p=.017), future perspective (p=.022), and arm symptoms (p=.007). A wide range of issues and symptoms were identified in the review of wellness plans. The most frequently reported problems were with mood, fatigue, menopause symptoms, and bone health. Feedback from the patient satisfaction survey indicated the Specialist Breast Nurse-led clinic was appropriately timed and highly valued.
Conclusion: Treatment type was significantly associated with differing needs for breast cancer survivors. Specialist Breast Nurse-led clinics can identify and address breast cancer survivors ongoing needs.Survivorship consults by Specialist Breast Nurses should be routine and aligned with completion of active treatment. This allows issues to be assessed and addressed to improve quality of life outcomes.