Background and context: Breast cancer is a common type of cancer among women worldwide, with about 2 million new cases diagnosed in the yearly. It is the second common cancer and leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Tanzania, after cervical cancer. More than 70% of breast cancer patients in developed countries are diagnosed at early stages, whereas in low and middle-income countries, only 20%–60% of patients are diagnosed early. Physician in developed countries consults on average 15-20 breast cancer patients daily, while in developing countries the number triples. This high load does not allow a treating physician to spend ample time with patients explaining hence leaving patients not informed about their diagnosis, side effects of treatments and even living with the physical, emotional and psychological challenges of their disease. Residents at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI), initiated a patient support group targeting breast cancer patients for feasibility. Aim: Provide forum for patients with same diagnosis to share common challenges Provide peer emotional, psychosocial support and cancer education Organize activities that will help to spread awareness to the community Initiate projects to improve socioeconomic status of breast cancer survivors in Tanzania Strategy/Tactics: Involved the ORCI administration from the beginning Involved the academic and research unit of ORCI Residents prepared session curriculum and teaching materials Sessions took place once a month Sessions were two hours long divided into three components, where the first is introduction of participants, then survivors led discussions or lectures prepared by an expert in the topic and lastly closing remarks by a physician Breakfast was provided Program/Policy process: Open membership for all breast cancer patients Physician lead face to face peer discussions Institutional acknowledgment of the support group Provision of primary registry of patients for follow-up Provision of a link to other social organizations Outcomes: Increase knowledge of cancer in general and breast cancer in particular A total of seven sessions were held to date For each session, participation ranged from 30-50 breast cancer survivors, and on average attendance was 4 sessions out of 7 Topics covered over a period of seven months included Coping with a cancer diagnosis and treatment Living with cancer and its changes to daily life Exercise Nutrition Breast cancer general knowledge Collaboration with other stake holders including IST secondary school students who initiated breast prosthesis knitting club What was learned: A need to reach out and give psycho-social support to ORCI patients Through education we can improve treatment adherence Possible partners are available if we reach out Exist a need to address misconceptions in the community so as to avoid stigma to patients.
Breast Cancer Support Group at Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam