[Symptom Experiences of Breast Cancer Patients]

Breast cancer is a major disease threating women. From diagnosis and treatment through regular follow-ups, patients with breast cancer may experience physical and mental discomfort and pain caused by disease and treatment-related symptoms. These symptoms may further affect disease progression, emotional state, health function status, quality of life, and survival. Symptom experience is as a dynamic process that expresses a patient's feeling regarding the totality of his or her experience. Symptom experience involves the patient's perception of the frequency, intensity, distress, and meaning that accompany the production and expression of symptoms. Cancer patients often experience multiple symptoms distress. Although these symptoms may occur in isolation, multiple symptoms are typically experienced simultaneously. Therefore, obtaining information from patients about the occurrence and distress of their symptom experience is essential to assess their symptom experiences. The present article presents an overview of symptom experiences, explores breast cancer symptom clusters, and analyzes related factors of influence for patients with breast cancer. The authors hope that the findings will help nurses better understand the symptom experiences of breast cancer patients and further apply this understanding in clinical practice in order to assess symptom experiences correctly and to provide more appropriate interventions to improve quality of care.