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Nurses’ Role in Care of Older Women with Breast Cancer

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Management of Breast Cancer in Older Women

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women worldwide World Health Organization (WHO). It is estimated that 568,000 deaths occurred in women from breast cancer in 2016. As women age their risk of breast cancer increases. The lifetime risk of developing breast cancer in women is 1 in 8. However, the older you are, the higher the risk. This means a 30 year old has a 1 in 227 risk of developing cancer as compared to a 70 year old whose risk is 1 in 26. Older adults diagnosed with cancer often have needs that are left unmet. Nurses play essential roles as part of the multi-disciplinary team caring for older women with breast cancer. As often is the case with nurses, they play many unique roles throughout patient’s trajectory of care including, but not limited to, providing clinical care, to psychosocial support, to helping patients navigate the system. This chapter will highlight the importance of nurses in providing care for older women with breast cancer through their trajectory of care.

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Correspondence to Vrutika Prajapati .

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Prajapati, V., Rotstein, S., Sarvanantham, S. (2019). Nurses’ Role in Care of Older Women with Breast Cancer. In: Reed, M., Audisio, R. (eds) Management of Breast Cancer in Older Women. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11875-4_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11875-4_15

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