중동부유럽

Cancer diagnosis is a new and stressful situation for everyone and affects all aspects of life. Patients with a cancer diagnosis face multiple problems, not only medical, but also logistical, social, psychological, and spiritual. Patients have a number of questions, concerns and are uncertain about the future [1, 2]. Cancer treatment consists of variety of therapies (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, biological therapy, hormonal therapy), takes a lot of time (stay at hospital after operation, multifractionated radiotherapy, systemic treatment administered in intervals), is received in a place often unfamiliar to the patient (oncological departments), and often requires frequent visits to the out-patients clinic, and potentially multiple hospitalizations. Moreover, oncological therapy is often associated with numerous stigmatizing side effects (for example hair loss, cachexia, amputations) [3]. Patients can feel tired and overwhelmed by the disease and its treatment. Cancer usually leads to changes in patients' daily lives [4]. They may be unable to adequately fulfill their usual roles and functions within family, social and professional life. This can lead to changes in their needs and priorities and for new ones to emerge. Therefore, a holistic approach to oncology health care should be provided. Needs other than those directly related to diagnosis and treatment (social, material, informative, emotional, spiritual, ect.) often seem to be unmet [5]. The physicians and nurses often do not have enough time and opportunity to respond to the patient's non-medical needs. On the other hand, not all patients are able to express their non-medical needs [6]. Non-medical needs may be defined as those that do not directly relate to the disease and treatment and have no clinical or other medical relevance. It is a challenge to introduce the routine assessment of unmet needs of all cancer patients into daily clinical practice. An appropriate tool is needed to help patients better identify their needs and medical staff to gain a better understanding of the non-medical needs of cancer patients. Better understanding of cancer patients’ needs could facilitate the patient-doctor relationship and could improve both patients’ quality of life and their satisfaction with health care [7,8,9]. Therefore, more attention should be paid to patients' non-medical needs.