Telephone Follow-Up After Treatment for Breast Cancer: Views and Experiences of Patients and Specialist Breast Care Nurses
Identifying the Phenomenon
This essay focuses on the views of patients and specialist breast care nurses (BCN) on telephone follow-up after treatment for breast cancer. The problem in this article is whether or not the telephone follow-up is an effective alternate form of follow-up treatment for breast cancer patients compared to routine hospital appointment follow-ups. This phenomenon is a continuation of broader research previously carried out on the subject. The article affirms from previous research that, "telephone follow-up by BCN's (Breast Cancer Nurses) for women who had completed treatment for breast cancer demonstrated that patients had higher levels of satisfaction, but did not have higher levels of anxiety as a result of foregoing clinical examination and face-to-face appointments" (Beaver, Williamson, & Chalmers, 2010, p. 2917). Research demonstrated that "there were no differences between the telephone and hospital groups in term of time to the detection of recurrent disease" (Beaver, Williamson, & Chalmers, 2010, p. 2917).
Purpose
The intent of this study was to contrast standard hospital follow-up by a physician with telephone follow-up by a specialized breast care nurse and identify which intervention received the greatest patient overall satisfaction. The study is especially relevant in nursing practice, as it highlights the importance of patient-centered care. By determining the intervention that provides the most satisfaction among patients, the quality of care improves and the respect, preference, needs, and values of the patient are met.
Method
This study utilized a q...
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...e have the skill to provide effect communication and care through a telephone conversation. This research is truly significant because it highlights the impact nurses can make. Through the use of a telephone follow-up, as opposed to a physician led hospital visit, advanced level nurses have the ability to provide thorough care and allow patients to feel more at ease on the phone. This intervention alone improves quality of care tremendously. While this study specifically focused on breast cancer patients, the use of telephone follow-up could be applicable to several other diseases.
Works Cited
Beaver, K., Williamson, S., & Chalmers, K. (2010). Telephone follow-up after treatment for breast cancer: views and experiences of patients and specialist breast care nurses. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 19(19/20), 2916-2924. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03197.x
Spiegel, D., Bloom, J. R., Kraemer, H. C., & Gottheil, E. (1989). Effect of psychosocial tr@ent on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Lan@t, 88:8-891.
Most women treated for early types of cancer live healthy lives after the recovery. But your chance of recover depends on many factors such as the type and stage of your breast cancer, how fast the cancer is spreading, how much the cancer cells depend on female hormones for growth, your age, your menopausal status, and your health.
Technological advances enable nurses to provide accurate, timely care for a patient. This is due to the fact that these advances enable doctors and nurses to quickly diagnose, explain and predict the health-illness status of a patient, thus allowing health care professionals to spend less time finding answers, and more time providing quality care. For nurses, this includes spending time with the patient establishing rapport, communication and a trusting relationship for optimum clinical care.
Janz, K. N., Majahid, S. M., Hawley, T. S., Griggs, J. J., Hamilton, S. A., Katz, J. S. (2008). Racial/ethnic differences in adequacy of information and support for women with breast cancer. American Cancer Society, 113, 1058-67.
Maintaining communication with patients, survivors, families, and the health care providers to monitor patient satisfaction with the cancer care experience.
Yadav, B. S., Sharma, S. C., Menu, G., Mohmad, A., Patel, F. D., Nisar, K., & Sushmita, G. (2010). Pattern of care and survival in older women with breast cancer in india. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, 9(4), 237-245. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1460396909990239
Throughout the duration of research paper, the researcher was able to receive first-hand testimony from a breast cancer survivor via email. The interview included questions such as: (1) the year and stage the breast cancer was diagnosed; (2) the level of awareness prior to diagnosis; (3) treatments used to combat cancer (chemotherapy, radiation or a combination of both); (4) the present condition of the breast cancer; and (5) the treatment, prevention, or examinations used to keep breast cancer in remission. The interviewee (remains nameless) was diagnosed on July 5, 2002 at Jefferson Hospital from a yearly mammogram. Her breast cancer was diagnosed in stage I, less than 1 mm in diameter (Office of Women’s Health n.d). She exclaimed she was very aware of the heredity risk in her family because of previous family members diagnosed with breast cancer. She received two lumpectomies, following a port was placed in her arm for easier access to her vein during chemotherapy. She received four rounds of chemotherapy, each spaced out by three weeks; she also underwent six weeks of r...
Meade, C. M., Bursell, A. L., & Ketelsen, L. (2006). Effects of Nursing Rounds on Patients’ Call
This literature critique reviews Catherine McCabe’s article, Nurse-patient communication: an exploration of patients’ experiences (McCabe, 2002). She has obtained many degrees related to health care (Registered General Nurse, Bachelor of Nursing Science, Registered Nurse Teacher, and Master Level Nursing) has many years of experience and is currently teaching at Trinity Center for Health Sciences. As stated in the title, this study will review the patient’s interactions with nurses in relation to their communication. This study used a qualitative approach, as stated within the article, by viewing the life experiences of the participants.
Patient satisfaction with nursing care and compliance with treatment is a topic that is heavily researched. The problem of decreased patient satisfaction is of great significance due impart to the fact that the level of patient satisfaction coincides with the level of compliance on medical advice, prescriptions, and directions given to patients (Johansson, Oleﰀni, & Fridlund, 2002). Patient satisfaction and compliance is a substantial problem in nursing because there is a large correlation with what patients’ perceive of nursing care and their perception on the quality of care received. Research has indicated that in order to increase patients’ participation
Michaud, L. B. (May 15, 2008). Treatment-experienced breast cancer.(SYMPOSIUM)(Clinical report).American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 65, 10. p.S4(6). Retrieved from Academic OneFile
Taleghani, F., Babazadeh, S., Mosavi S., Tavazohi H., (2012) The effects of peer support group on promoting quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Iran J Nursery Midwifery Res. 17(2): 125-130. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3696969/
Clinical handover’s main role is to transmit relevant, accurate and current details of the patient’s treatment, health service needs, care, evaluation and clinical monitoring, and goal planning. Inadequate communication during clinical handover have been linked with irrelevant, repetitive or missing information, resulting to spending extensive
Breast cancer affects nearly fifty thousand women each year in the UK. Breast cancer in women is more common over the age of fifty however in recent years there has seen a spike in younger women falling victim to breast cancer (Macmillan.org, 2012). Cancer Research (2012) states that there are a large mixture of emotions for someone being diagnosed with Breast Cancer and this also may directly impact the families and friends of those diagnosed. Furthermore Macmillian (2012) said that the feelings and emotions that come with a diagnosis of ...
...lso recommend that their patients get an x-ray for the untreated breast as well. Doctors and patients are relieved quite a few times because a majority of breast cancers don’t recur, yet minorities of breast cancers do recur after several years. This is why doctors encourage their patients to come to their follow-ups. Doctors aren’t really sure that if the disease doesn’t recur in a few years it doesn’t mean it won’t. This cancer is slow growing so the disease may recur in about 10 to 20 years; however time does affect the likelihood of recurrence so if there are no signs of the cancer in the x-ray then there is a chance the disease won’t recur. Doctors and medical professionals can offer only so much support and every woman who has been diagnosed with is deals with the consequences of treatment and diagnosis no matter how strong she is needs emotional support.