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Oct. 15 (UPI) -- A global survey of breast cancer patients reveals a gap in support services for managing the mental and physical side effects experienced by those undergoing treatment. "While medical advancements have improved survival rates, this survey highlights ongoing gaps in patient care and communications about side effects people are likely to experience," Breastcancer.org Chief Medical Officer and founder Dr. Marisa Weiss said Tuesday in a news release.
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The survey indicates 99.9% of breast cancer patients experienced physical and mental side effects from treatment, including chemotherapy patients who experienced the most several symptoms.
The symptoms include physical changes and gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal side effects.
Common mental effects include issues with memory and concentration, which hormone therapy and chemotherapy patients alike cited.
Short-term side effects were cited by 96.8% of survey respondents, but only 18.7% cited long-term side effects from their respective treatments.
Another 70.6% of respondents said they were comfortable in discussing side effects with their healthcare providers and felt supported versus 12.7% saying they felt embarrassed or uncomfortable discussing long-term side effects.
Some 12.2% said their healthcare providers did not give them enough time to discuss side effects, and 12.8% said their doctors didn't think their side effects were due to medication.
Nearly 11% were told by their healthcare providers they should do a better job of handling treatment side effects.
Most breast cancer patients lacked referrals for additional support.
A third of those surveyed said they did not receive referrals for specialists, such as physical therapists or mental health providers, while undergoing breast cancer treatment.
"We need to ensure that patients are not only surviving but thriving by addressing these challenges as a whole," Weiss said.
UCLA Health breast cancer medical oncologist Dr. Maurice Berkowitz contributed to the study.
Most breast cancer patients are using the Internet to learn more about managing their respective breast cancer treatments and side effects.
About 96% of those surveyed used the Internet to obtain relevant information, with 43% saying Breastcancer.org and similar online communities were "extremely helpful" in helping them manage their progress while undergoing breast cancer treatment.
More than 1,400 people around the globe participated in the survey that Breastcancer.org released to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Although not discussed in the survey, a recently published study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests breast cancer treatments accelerate aging.
"For the first time, we're showing that the [aging] signals we once thought were driven by chemotherapy are also present in women undergoing radiation and surgery," that study's lead author, Judith Carroll, said.
Carroll is an associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 272,454 new cases of breast cancer were reported in women in the United States in 2021 and 42,211 women died from breast cancer in 2022.
Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed comments made by Dr. Marisa Weiss to UCLA Health breast cancer medical oncologist Dr. Maurice Berkowitz, who contributed to the study.
