Quality of life during high dose chemotherapy for breast cancer

Abstract

A small sample of women (n=9) receiving high dose chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer were asked to complete a quality of life measure (QLQ-C30) at three time points: prior to, during and post treatment. Despite the onset of severe side effects, no significant deterioration in quality of life was recorded in terms of physical, role, emotional, cognitive or social functioning. The role of the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in providing continuity of care as well as support and information for these women is discussed. Further work in this area with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm these findings and to further investigate the role of the CNS in this context.