ABSTRACT
The potential benefits of breast cancer screening include the detection of cancers at a more favourable stage, however, cancers detected during the prevalent round of screening may differ from true screen-detected cancers. These differences are poorly defined. This study prospectively assessed all women between 50 and 64 years of age undergoing curative surgery for breast cancer, both screen-detected and symptomatic, in one screening centre during the prevalent round of the national breast cancer-screening programme. Four hundred and thirty seven patients (364 screen-detected and 73 symptomatic patients) underwent surgery for breast cancer. Symptomatic breast cancers were of a higher grade (p < 0.0001; Chi2) and less likely to be oestrogen receptor positive (49% versus 88%; p < 0.0001; Fisher's exact test); however there was no difference in size of tumour or axillary nodal positivity. This study suggests that tumours detected by screening during the prevalent round of a screening programme are of a more prognostically favourable type than symptomatic breast cancers in the same age group.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis , Mass Screening , Breast Neoplasms/epidemiology , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Breast Neoplasms/surgery , Disease Progression , Female , Health Status Indicators , Humans , Ireland/epidemiology , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Invasiveness , Prevalence , Prognosis , Prospective Studies , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine if an educational program on pain assessment that includes both knowledge and attitude domains is more effective than a didactic educational offering in encouraging nurses' reliance on patients' self-reports of pain during assessment for pain. Twenty-two registered nurses and seven licensed practical nurses at the Tucson Veterans Affairs Medical Center participated. Group A received a lecture and watched a videotape. Group B received a lecture, watched a videotape, and participated in a group discussion on attitudes. Participants in both groups completed the Pain Management Questionnaire developed by Ferrell, Eberts, McCaffery & Grant (1991). No significant differences were found between groups with respect to results on the pain management questionnaire.
