Support Care Cancer. 2016

Patient and health care provider perceptions of cancer-related fatigue and pain.

Williams LA, Bohac C, Hunter S, Cella D.

Surveys were used to determine the impact of fatigue and pain and compare perceptions of patients with cancer and oncologists/oncology nurses. From a random sample of adult patients from the general US population with a non-hematologic tumour treated with >2 months of systemic anticancer therapy, 550 of 1122 (49%) completed a survey. This was along with 400 of 533 oncologists (75%), and 400 of 617 oncology nurses (65%), who had to spend >75% of their work time in patient care and >50% providing direct care for adult patients with solid tumours receiving chemotherapy. 98% of patients reported fatigue; 72% of oncologists and 84% of oncology nurses thought this was the case.

From the patients, 58% reported that fatigue affected them more than pain during chemotherapy compared with 29% of oncologists and 25% of oncology nurses. 86% of patients reported pain while undergoing chemotherapy; 36% of oncologists and 51% of oncology nurses thought this. Oncologists/oncology nurses underestimated fatigue and pain for patients with cancer during chemotherapy, showing the importance of assessing symptoms by direct patient reporting.

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