The Nurse’s role in managing the psychological and emotional impact on women diagnosed with breast cancer

Objective: The purpose of this review is to examine the current evidence on the psychological and emotional impact on women diagnosed with Breast Cancer, and the role of nurses in alleviating such impact. Methods: A literature review was conducted and included papers published between January 2004 – January 2014. Results: Thematic analysis of the selected papers revealed three main themes: “Just want to carry on as normal”, “Family support vs support from health care professionals” and “Staffing”. Women often suffer both emotionally and psychologically following a diagnosis of Breast Cancer. While nurses play a significant role in helping women to cope with Breast Cancer, they often feel ill-equipped to do so. Conclusions: Women diagnosed with Breast Cancer suffer emotionally and psychologically, but they don’t always receive the appropriate support to enable them to cope with this burden. Additional training, funding and nursing staff skill mix may be needed to provide a patient-tailored emotional and psychological support for the affected women. This may contribute to establishing good practice and help nurses to care for those patients more holistically.