Nursing as therapy in the management of breathlessness in lung cancer

Breathlessness has been described as an unpleasant sensation, but if it encompasses suffering, as some argue, it is much more than this. Breathlessness is also a major issue for people with cancer. Much of the effort to manage breathlessness has thus far focused on the treatment of underlying causes or on pharmacological strategies. In this paper, broader rehabilitative goals of care and treatment for breathlessness in lung cancer are addressed. Breathing control techniques have been developed to help patients with non-malignant disease to avoid breathlessness at rest or on exertion. A study is described (Corner et al., 1995) which evaluated the effectiveness of breathing retraining and psychosocial support for breathlessness in lung cancer. Breathlessness can be a frightening and powerful experience. It can symbolize a threat to life itself. In these circumstances, the goal of therapy is to alleviate loss of function and to ease the psychological burden that so restricts the individual. An 'integrative' model of breathlessness is discussed, in which the emotional experience of breathlessness is considered inseparable from the sensory experience and the biological mechanisms. Evidence is presented from a small study of the experiences of nurses working in the experimental clinic for breathlessness which suggests that the emotional consequences of breathlessness have a profound influence on how it is managed in practice. Finally, it is argued that symptoms are sometimes generalized too much. Experience is particular, not universal, and an open, accepting and therapeutic approach to managing illness has to be involved with messy and sometimes frightening emotions.