A qualitative study on experiences and needs of breast cancer survivors in South Canara region of Karnataka

Globally the incidence of breast cancer is high among women aged above 50 years whereas in India the incidence is high among women aged above 40 years. In India Breast cancer is diagnosed most commonly after cervical cancer. The incidence rate of breast cancer varies from 9 to 32 per 1, 00,000 women which is age standardized in India. Moreover largest estimated numbers of breast cancer deaths occur in India.The breast cancer patients suffer from physical, emotional, psychological, financial and social disturbances at a large extent and it is found that unmet needs were high in the post-treatment phase among cancer patients than any other phase of cancer continuum. Health care practitioners should address needs of breast cancer survivors in order to support them to return to the normal way of life.Understanding the needs of cancer survivors makes the health care patient-centered.In low and middle income countries the breast cancer.Many cancer survivors will have unmet supportive care needs beyond the successful treatment where the care shifts to community settings, where the community plays an important role in meeting the needs of cancer survivors along with health care facilities. In order to enhance the quality of life it is necessary to understand needs and experiences of the breast cancer patients. The existing knowledge on needs and experiences of the breast cancer survivors is very limited. Few studies have been conducted in India with regard to needs and experiences of breast cancer survivors. Hence this study is intended to explore the experiences and needs of breast cancer survivors.