Breast Cancer Management and Availability of Social Support System to Affected Persons in Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

The level of awareness of breast cancer is still growing particularly in developing countries such as Nigeria. Unfortunately, the down side of low awareness include among others, the lack of adequate social support systems. It is therefore necessary look into the availability of support systems for breast cancer patients. This cross-sectional descriptive study enrolled 40 females accessing medical care for breast cancer purposively in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. The study participants had received chemotherapy following the surgical removal of the tumour. They were on post-chemotherapy routine check as at the time of the study. A structured questionnaire was administered by two trained interviewers to obtain information on available support system to the study participants. Attitude to the condition among the patients included anxiety and fear (47.5%) as the highest while optimism was the least on the ranking at 25%. Those whose spouses were supportive ranked low at 12.5 %, while majority of them reported their spouses to be indifferent to their situation. Again, support from other family member’s apart spouses was low at 7.5%. None of the participants was receiving formal support from any agency as at the time of the study. The study concludes that anxiety and fear are prevalently experienced among breast cancer patients in the study area, while optimism is at a low ebb. Support systems exists solely within the informal circle of family and even at that, very few experience good support from family.