Travelling for radiation cancer treatment: Patient perspectives

Abstract

Radiation treatment for cancer requires patients to receive frequent administrations and attend the treatment facility on a daily basis for several weeks. Travelling for radiation treatment has the potential to add to the distress an individual may be feeling. This study utilized in-depth interviews to capture 118 patients' perspectives about travelling for cancer treatment. Four themes emerged during the analysis of the data: (1) waiting was the most difficult part of the experience; (2) the idea of travelling for treatment was distressing; (3) travelling for treatment was tiring and posed difficulties for patients; and (4) being away from home had both benefits and drawbacks. Given the inevitability of travelling for radiation treatment, and the issues that arises for patients, supportive strategies need to be designed and implemented.

Psychosocial well-being and supportive care needs of cancer patients living in urban and rural/regional areas: a systematic review

“…A Canadian study on travel issues [38] confirmed the challenges of travel reported in quantitative studies. Four themes emerged: (1) waiting was the most difficult part of the experience.…”

“…There were 14 quantitative studies without a control group, three on emotional aspects, three on travel issues and eight on needs and quality of life, all in the active phase of treatment [9,11,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Only one study [35] was longitudinal.…”

“…Many families reported travel was a challenge, identifying the following as needing improvement: access to information and support prior to leaving home, and for someone to help them decipher the information, access to information about supportive care services while away from home, and sensitivity to personal needs in making arrangements for travel [11,29,30]. One Canadian study [30] compared patients who unexpectedly had to travel when it became clear that their local centre could not provide treatment in a timely manner, with patients who expected to travel because of their distance from a city, and patients who lived in an urban environment and did not have to travel.…”

“…One Canadian study [30] compared patients who unexpectedly had to travel when it became clear that their local centre could not provide treatment in a timely manner, with patients who expected to travel because of their distance from a city, and patients who lived in an urban environment and did not have to travel. Some patients travelled daily, sometimes for quite long distances, to receive treatment, and others travelled to the treatment centre and found accommodated there.…”

“…Some participants felt that being away from all responsibilities gave them the opportunity to rest without feeling guilty [38]. Patients in Canada were overall satisfied with the care provided in their accommodation [30].…”