SUPPORTIVE CARE NEEDS OF NEWLY DIAGNOSED ADVANCED COLON CANCER PATIENTS AT MANSOURA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

Newly diagnosed advanced colon cancer(ACC)patients reported high levels of unmet needsrelated to issues such as provision of information, psychosocial support, practicalassistance, and sexual issues. Aim of the study:Assess supportive care needs(SCNs) ofnewly diagnosed ACC patients at Oncology Centre Mansoura University. Method: A descriptive researchdesign was used. Subjects:Convenient sample (50) of newly diagnosed ACC patients during six months duration. Tools: Three tools were used for data collection, Tool I:Socio-demographic Characteristics and Clinical Data of the Patients Questionnaire, Tool II: Short-form Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF34) of ACC Patients, and Tool III: Functional Assessment of Cancer-Therapy Colorectal Subscale (FACTC). Results: The highest levels of unmet SCNs of the studied patients were related to psychological well-being needs (90.56%) , followed by health system and information needs (82.60%), then physical and activities of daily living needs (71.82%), but sexual domain represented the lowest needs (50.96%).Conclusion:The most reported unmet need was “fear from cancer spreading. Recommendation:Most unmet SCNs of colon cancer patients in the study are from the perspective of the psychological and health system and information domains. Therefore, educating colon cancer patients and meeting their psychological needs should be considered as a fundamental part of the supportive care programs.