Exploring Discomfort Experienced During Chemotherapy in Thai Breast Cancer Patients

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females worldwide, and a new era is prevalent in the early stage. A qualitative approach explores discomfort experienced during adjuvant chemotherapy among Thai breast cancer patients. METHOD: The participants were selected by purposive sampling with a variation of two comprehensive cancer centers. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen patients who had completed the second cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy prior to the interview. RESULTS: A qualitative content analysis of data revealed two themes, six categories, and 23 sub-categories. The themes defined discomfort characteristics and factors leading to discomfort. Among all the categories were described physical discomfort, environmental discomfort, psychological discomfort, needing to relieve discomfort, lack of socio-cultural support, and lack of mental support. CONCLUSION: There is a need to alleviate discomfort, specifically due to Thai beliefs and culture related to patient self-management and nursing care. These findings may be extended to best practice nursing interventions to enhance comfort outcomes for breast cancer patients and elevate patient satisfaction.