Abstract
BackgroundBreast cancer (BC) presents important physical and psychological challenges that should be appropriately addressed through continuous, integrated and individualized rehabilitation programs after treatment. In this study, we aimed to collect more information on the rehabilitation patterns and utilization of healthcare services by women with BC.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed data from two archives of the Lazio Regional Health System Database to assess rehabilitation patterns in women diagnosed with BC in the Lazio region (Italy) in 2008.ResultsA total of 5538 women diagnosed with BC were considered in the present study. Most patients (81.7%) received outpatient rehabilitative care, consisting mainly of pathology-related interventions and, more rarely, disability-related interventions (mainly motor rehabilitation and rarely cognitive or psychological therapy). Few patients followed an inpatient (1.3%) or an intensive outpatient rehabilitation program (1.0%).ConclusionMost patients do not receive adequate rehabilitation care during the first year after diagnosis. More information and better rehabilitation services should be provided to help patients with BC access rehabilitation programs. The study also suggests the importance of psychosocial and cognitive interventions, which is a major unmet need in women with BC.
Highlights
Breast cancer (BC) presents important physical and psychological challenges that should be appropriately addressed through continuous, integrated and individualized rehabilitation programs after treatment
The other databases contain data on rehabilitation programs, categorized as inpatients rehabilitation after hospital discharge for acute disease (RAD-R), intensive rehabilitation pathways provided outside the hospital setting (SIAR) and rehabilitation services provided in the outpatient setting (SIAS)
Various studies have investigated the efficacy of different motor and cognitive rehabilitation programs for women with BC, only a limited number of studies have focused on the utilization of these services [23,24,25]
Summary
Breast cancer (BC) presents important physical and psychological challenges that should be appropriately addressed through continuous, integrated and individualized rehabilitation programs after treatment. The recent advances in diagnosis and treatment have considerably improved the survival time and quality of Falcicchio et al BMC Cancer (2021) 21:311 management [12,13,14] These unique issues lead to a greater need for information and support care. The timely delivery of these services, provided both through inpatient or outpatient programs, is crucial to support women after surgery and throughout the post-treatment survivorship stages [15] These rehabilitation pathways present peculiar challenges related to BC. Useful tools that can be used to support and assess patients during the rehabilitation phases include physician-based and patient-based assessment scales, to clearly identify patient’s needs The aim of these personalized and flexible paths is to provide an interdisciplinary rehabilitative intervention to patients, reducing or reverting the physical disability, improving functional and cognitive deficit, managing psychological and social issues and optimizing the overall quality of life
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