Care Needs and Symptoms Burden of Breast Cancer Patients in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in Jordan. Rigorous needs assessment for breast cancer patients can prioritize both cancer care and palliative care to propose the appropriate services effectively. We conducted a cross-sectional study of breast cancer patients in a cancer center in Jordan. We assessed symptom burden, comorbidities, and performance using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS), the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and the Australia-modified Karnofsky performance scale (AKPS). Descriptive analysis and regression models to predict the highest symptom burden were used. A total of 233 participants were enrolled: curative vs. palliative intent groups (147 (63%) vs. 86 (37%) patients), respectively. Tiredness was the most reported symptom in 189 patients (81%), while nausea was the least in 61 patients (26.2%). A relationship between the AKPS score and total ESAS was seen (correlation coefficient of −0.487; p < 0.0001). The prevalence of anxiety (p = 0.014), lack of appetite (p = 0.002), poor well-being (p < 0.001), and sleep disorder (p = 0.035) was higher in the palliative care intent group than in the curative one. We identified unmet needs in breast cancer patients. Both groups showed a prevalence of distressing symptoms suggesting that even those with non-palliative intent have high needs and should receive integrated palliative care.

Needs and expectations of family caregivers of cancer patients in palliative care: A study protocol

“…Cancer survivors and their family caregivers have specific needs and expectations regarding healthcare professionals' support. Although several studies explored the cancer survivors' needs and expectations (Berger et al, 2020;Kim et al, 2020;Johnston et al, 2021;Shamieh et al, 2022), the family caregivers' perspective is poorly understood. A previous study has identified that patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers have unmet care needs regarding information, including illness, treatment, and care-related information (Wang et al, 2018).…”

Aggressiveness of Cancer Care at End of Life in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer in Jordan

“…Patients with breast cancer may face significant impaired function and overall symptom burden especially in advanced stages. 20 …”

“… 31 , 32 The early integration is crucial, especially in countries with limited resources, like ours, and should be linked to local clinical practice guidelines (CPG) and process and outcome key performance indicators (KPI). 20 …”

“…Patients with breast cancer may face significant impaired function and overall symptom burden especially in advanced stages. 20 Several studies have found that the integration of palliative care early during the course of the disease has a favorable impact on aggressiveness of cancer care at end-of-life. Several indicators were utilized to assess this issue including chemotherapy use, emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalization to regular in-patient and intensive care units (ICU).…”

“…31,32 The early integration is crucial, especially in countries with limited resources, like ours, and should be linked to local clinical practice guidelines (CPG) and process and outcome key performance indicators (KPI). 20 In this study we aim to assess the service utilization and the impact of palliative care service integration among breast cancer patients managed during the last 30 days before death.…”