Palliative care is often sought by those who have an advanced stage of breast cancer. Such patients face numerous problems, which may be physical, psychological, social, financial, and spiritual; hampering their quality of life. The patients and their caregivers have specific needs and many queries which need to be addressed in time so as to minimise the distress to take an unbiased decision for the betterment of the quality of life of the patient. This can only be achieved by the multidisciplinary team approach that takes into account not only the presence of disease but also its impact on the social as well as psychological status of the patient—the hesitancy, resistance, expectations of the patient and their family, in addition to assessment of quality and commitment of caregiving. This chapter discusses various components of palliative care in patients with breast cancer, the goals and needs, approach, and management of any new symptoms leading to a better quality of life for the patients and their families. Through this chapter, we hope to improve the insight of readers and focus on quality of life through a multidimensional approach. We have also discussed the increasing demand for palliative care specialists in India to cater for the needs of such patients.

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Palliative Care for Breast Cancer Patients

  • Raghav Gupta,
  • Sushma Bhatnagar

摘要

Palliative care is often sought by those who have an advanced stage of breast cancer. Such patients face numerous problems, which may be physical, psychological, social, financial, and spiritual; hampering their quality of life. The patients and their caregivers have specific needs and many queries which need to be addressed in time so as to minimise the distress to take an unbiased decision for the betterment of the quality of life of the patient. This can only be achieved by the multidisciplinary team approach that takes into account not only the presence of disease but also its impact on the social as well as psychological status of the patient—the hesitancy, resistance, expectations of the patient and their family, in addition to assessment of quality and commitment of caregiving. This chapter discusses various components of palliative care in patients with breast cancer, the goals and needs, approach, and management of any new symptoms leading to a better quality of life for the patients and their families. Through this chapter, we hope to improve the insight of readers and focus on quality of life through a multidimensional approach. We have also discussed the increasing demand for palliative care specialists in India to cater for the needs of such patients.