Assessing patient self-care for side effects of cancer chemotherapy???Part I

To assess self-care behavior for side effects of chemotherapy, 48 cancer patients with varying diagnoses and treatment regimens were recruited through the Visiting Nurse Association and a group of privately practicing oncologists. The patients reported an average of 7.69 side effects they had experienced but only an average of 0.81 self-care behaviors they had initiated. The discrepancy between experienced side effects and initiated self-care behavior is attributed to lack of information from physicians and nurses and the patients' limited knowledge of self-care measures.