title: Psychological, physical, and social situation of Polish patients with colorectal cancer undergoing first-line palliative chemotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the psychological, physical, and social situations and needs of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Quantitative, descriptive.
  
  
  METHODS
  An urban comprehensive cancer center in northeastern Poland.
  
  
  METHODS
  50 patients undergoing first-line palliative chemo-therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were asked to fill out an institution-developed questionnaire assessing personal, emotional, physical, and social data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychological, physical, and social characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most frequently reported side effects of chemotherapy were asthenia, loss of taste, and nausea and vomiting. In addition, about 54% of patients were unable to work during treatment. Chemotherapy administration resulted in severe or moderate impediment of activities of daily living in 74% of the patients and negatively influenced their financial situation. About 25% of the patients were reluctant to share the news of their disease with their coworkers; however, most revealed their diagnosis to friends and family. The majority (62%) of patients expected help from family members. Nurses provided emotional support to a much lesser extent than patients' immediate relatives. The majority of patients (80%) needed to express their feelings by talking, but only about 30% considered a nurse to be the preferred person with whom to discuss their disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with CRC diagnosed at an advanced stage require considerably more emotional, informative, and instrumental support from nurses, doctors, family, other patients, and priests than was anticipated by the authors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Extending routine history taking via the addition of questions to the proposed questionnaire may help to better recognize a particular patient's situation and unique needs. An increasingly patient-focused approach could improve the individual nursing care in this region of Europe. Ultimately, a multidisciplinary team would be required to meet the needs of patients with CRC undergoing chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Medical University and the Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bialystok, Poland. ewa.sierko@iq.pl
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sierko
authors.forename: Maria T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Werpachowska
authors.forename: Marek Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Wojtukiewicz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011044:Poland; D012922:Social Change; D012944:Social Support; D019037:Urban Health Services
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents