La estimación de la calidad de vida y la atención integral en mujeres con cáncer de mama

Abstract

The assessment of quality of life (QL) in women with breast cancer by administering specific, self-administered questionnaires, such as those developed by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), allows for the identification of the most affected areas. It consists of the identification of physical, psychological and social health problems that may go completely unnoticed in a traditional biomedical assessment. The implementation of nursing interventions to solve these problems would complete comprehensive high quality care. The aim of this work is to underscore the clinical utility and importance of including quality of life assessment in the comprehensive care delivered to women with breast cancer. Nursing research in this field is essential to establish evidence regarding the problems and needs of women with breast cancer in the different stages of the health process. The development of interventions specifically designed to solve these problems would improve the quality of the care delivered and especially the quality of life of patients. These nursing interventions and their outcomes in health constitute a broad and necessary research field in nursing.