2024-07-03 13:26:26
July 3, 2024
In the case of cancer, 70% of patients have access to the supportive care they need most, namely management of adverse effects of treatment, psychological support, adaptive physical activity and certain complementary therapies (acupuncture, hypnosis, etc.). It can be done better.
Supportive oncology care includes the care and support a cancer patient needs throughout their illness. Their goal is to reduce the side effects of treatment and the impact of the cancer itself, and ensure that patients and their loved ones have the best possible quality of life on a physical, psychological and social level.
However, as the just-released third Supportive Oncology Care Barometer sponsored by the French Association for Supportive Oncology Care reveals, patient access to supportive care remains disparate depending on region.
Only two-thirds of patients have access to supportive care
Three numbers help establish today’s thinking regarding access to supportive oncology care:
– Only more than 70% of patients are able to use it;
– Only 26% of patients reassess their needs when their condition relapses;
– Only 17% of patients benefited from treatment following stopping it.
Although more than two-thirds of patients surveyed actually received supportive oncology care, that doesn’t mean they received all the care they needed. So there’s still a lot of room for improvement.
What supportive care do patients need most?
The supportive care most needed by cancer patients is management of treatment side effects (58.6%), psychological support (53%), complementary therapies such as acupuncture, psychotherapy or hypnosis (47%), adaptive physical activity (43%), diet and nutrition (38%), pain management (34%), and social aesthetic care (30%).
Indeed, what supportive care will we benefit from in France in 2023?
Seventy-five percent of patients had access to social cosmetic care, and 72% benefited from pain management, management of treatment adverse effects, and psychological support.
Dietary and nutritional support was involved in 69% of patients, while 68% received complementary treatments. 67% had access to a social worker. 64% engaged in adaptive physical activity. Finally, 35% benefited from support to continue or resume professional activity.
Furthermore, information regarding supportive care is still not optimal: 30% of patients said they were “fairly” or “very dissatisfied” with it.
Barriers to supportive care identified
Based on the barriers patients stated, there were some important areas for improvement: difficulty knowing who to contact (66%), distance from home (58%), difficulty accessing counseling (56%), fees/out-of-pocket costs (53 %), inability of the institution to provide care (51%), incompatibility with professional activities (38%) and personal life (50%).
The combined views of patients and health professionals surveyed in this survey highlight the need, on the one hand, for better information regarding supportive care from disease declarations, and, on the other hand, for patients to provide better information to health care professionals who can meet the requirements. guide.
In addition, financial support and difficulty finding health professionals who can provide consultations are also serious issues in the current context of healthcare shortages.
learn more : What is supportive care? By the National Cancer Institute (INCa) and How do I get supportive care?
Source: Results of the third AFSOS Supportive Care Barometer (July 2, 2024); US National Cancer Institute (INCa) website (accessed July 3, 2024).
Screenwriter: Helen Joubert; Editing by Emmanuel Ducloser
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